Insider Buying: YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Director Purchases 6,930 Shares of Stock

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Director Guillermo Alberto Francos acquired 6,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.42 per share, for a total transaction of $356,340.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,674.60. This trade represents a 25.02% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Guillermo Alberto Francos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 14th, Guillermo Alberto Francos sold 2,770 shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.76, for a total transaction of $154,455.20.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Performance

NYSE:YPF traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $38.54. 278,809 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,720,010. The firm has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.46. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a 52 week low of $32.74 and a 52 week high of $57.87.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.08. The company had revenue of $6.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 17.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 413,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $20,779,000 after purchasing an additional 163,200 shares during the period. Arlington Capital Management INC grew its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Capital Management INC now owns 91,104 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $4,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 2.8% in the third quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the third quarter worth $145,000. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the third quarter worth $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on YPF. Zacks Research raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on YPF Sociedad Anónima from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings cut YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.50.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Company Profile

YPF Sociedad Anónima is an integrated energy company based in Argentina and one of the country’s principal oil and gas producers. The company explores for, develops and produces crude oil and natural gas, with operations that include both conventional and unconventional resources. YPF is also a major participant in the development of the Vaca Muerta shale formation in the Neuquén Basin.

Through its downstream operations, YPF refines crude oil and markets fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products.