YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $49.00 and last traded at $48.9410, with a volume of 260777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

YPF Sociedad Anónima Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.76 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.76.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.20. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative net margin of 2.16% and a positive return on equity of 1.11%. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other YPF Sociedad Anónima news, VP Mauricio Alejandro Martin sold 3,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 99.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Marcelo Gustavo Aldeco sold 12,719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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 represents a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oaktree Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,972,000. Ping Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 36.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,585,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 125.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 161.2% in the 2nd 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 period. 10.08% of the stock is owned by 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.