YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Shares Climb 3.5% – Here’s Why

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF)’s stock price shot up 3.5% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $55.60 and last traded at $55.1950. Approximately 187,779 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,810,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on YPF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from $61.50 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Zacks Research lowered YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. HSBC raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on YPF Sociedad Anónima from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, YPF Sociedad Anónima has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Down 0.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 1.25.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.81. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Horacio Daniel Marin bought 2,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $131,634.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 92,193 shares in the company, valued at $4,273,145.55. This represents a 3.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Matias Osvaldo Farina bought 8,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.22 per share, with a total value of $401,327.50. Following the purchase, the vice president owned 55,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,518,166.14. This represents a 18.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Institutional Trading of YPF Sociedad Anónima

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YPF. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 13.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. First Growth Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 1.4% during the first quarter. First Growth Capital LLC now owns 18,587 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC grew its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC now owns 24,505 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

YPF Sociedad Anónima is an Argentine integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. The company operates across Argentina, including the Vaca Muerta formation in the Neuquén Basin, one of the country’s most important unconventional hydrocarbon regions.

YPF’s downstream operations include refining crude oil, marketing fuels and lubricants, producing petrochemicals, and distributing petroleum products through a network of service stations and commercial channels.