YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.67.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Up 2.1%

YPF opened at $46.12 on Monday. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $47.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.56. The stock has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.86 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported ($1.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($2.44). The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 million. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative return on equity of 0.26% and a negative net margin of 4.48%. As a group, equities analysts expect that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Marcelo Gustavo Aldeco sold 12,719 shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total transaction of $554,675.59. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 101 shares in the company, valued at $4,404.61. The trade was a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mauricio Alejandro Martin sold 3,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.60, for a total value of $149,548.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610.40. This represents a 99.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Institutional Trading of YPF Sociedad Anónima

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 299,442 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $10,792,000 after acquiring an additional 123,659 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,377,000. First Growth Capital LLC purchased a new stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima in the fourth quarter worth approximately $715,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 85,574 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,094,000 after buying an additional 20,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wisconsin Investment Board purchased a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima in the fourth quarter worth about $2,035,000. 10.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.