Zacks Research Upgrades YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) to Strong-Buy

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Performance

NYSE:YPF traded down $1.57 on Monday, hitting $42.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 740,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,137,522. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.19 and a beta of 1.30. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a one year low of $22.82 and a one year high of $48.96.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative net margin of 4.48% and a negative return on equity of 0.26%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 million. Research analysts predict that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 55.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,379,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $106,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,440 shares during the last quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 36.1% during the third quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,017,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $48,993,000 after purchasing an additional 534,800 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 125.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 651,384 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $15,822,000 after purchasing an additional 362,155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the third quarter worth $6,257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.