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

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on YPF. Zacks Research downgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on YPF Sociedad Anónima from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, YPF Sociedad Anónima currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Up 0.1%

YPF stock opened at $49.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.75. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.73. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a 12 month low of $22.82 and a 12 month high of $57.49.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative net margin of 2.16% and a positive return on equity of 1.11%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Matias Osvaldo Farina bought 8,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.22 per share, with a total value of $401,327.50. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 55,687 shares in the company, valued at $2,518,166.14. The trade was a 18.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Horacio Daniel Marin bought 2,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $131,634.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 11,792 shares of company stock worth $537,153.

Institutional Trading of YPF Sociedad Anónima

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oaktree Capital Management LP acquired a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the first quarter worth $40,972,000. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the first quarter valued at about $21,585,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 125.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 651,384 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $15,822,000 after purchasing an additional 362,155 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 161.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 568,507 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $17,880,000 after purchasing an additional 350,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 202.0% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 444,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $20,522,000 after purchasing an additional 297,000 shares in the last quarter. 10.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.