YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $49.00 and last traded at $48.69, with a volume of 2401512 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on YPF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings cut YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on YPF Sociedad Anónima from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, YPF Sociedad Anónima presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a PE ratio of -46.82 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.09.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last announced 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. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a positive return on equity of 1.11% and a negative net margin of 2.16%.The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Research analysts expect that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at YPF Sociedad Anónima

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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,404.61. This trade represents a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mauricio Alejandro Martin sold 3,430 shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610.40. This represents a 99.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 262,370 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $9,487,000 after purchasing an additional 46,195 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,112,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,257,000. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $486,000. 10.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Company Profile

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.