YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

YPF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, YPF Sociedad Anónima currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Price Performance

YPF Sociedad Anónima stock opened at $49.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a PE ratio of -47.82 and a beta of 1.28. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a one year low of $22.82 and a one year high of $57.49.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a positive return on equity of 1.11% and a negative net margin of 2.16%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Matias Osvaldo Farina acquired 8,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.22 per share, for a total transaction of $401,327.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 55,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,518,166.14. This trade represents a 18.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Horacio Daniel Marin bought 2,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.35 per share, with a total value of $131,634.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,273,145.55. This trade represents a 3.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 11,792 shares of company stock valued at $537,153.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 488.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: YPF) is an integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company’s primary businesses encompass upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream transportation and storage, and downstream refining and distribution. YPF operates several major refineries and a nationwide network of service stations, supplying fuels, lubricants, and petrochemical products to both retail and industrial customers.

Founded in 1922 as Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, YPF was the world’s first state‐owned oil company.