Short Interest in YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) Declines By 13.2%

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,480,000 shares, a decline of 13.2% from the February 28th total of 4,010,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on YPF. StockNews.com lowered shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $59.50 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.02.

Institutional Trading of YPF Sociedad Anónima

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 130.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,211 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,427 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 4th quarter worth $128,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,829 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. 10.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Down 10.7 %

Shares of NYSE YPF traded down $3.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.97. 5,314,025 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,083,481. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.58. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a one year low of $16.18 and a one year high of $47.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.86.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($1.25). The company had revenue of $4.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.86 billion. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 32.76%. On average, analysts predict that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

YPF Sociedad Anónima, an energy company, engages in the oil and gas upstream and downstream activities in Argentina. Its upstream operations include the exploration, exploitation, and production of crude oil, and natural gas. The company's downstream operations include petrochemical production and crude oil refining; transportation and distribution refined and petrochemical products; commercialization of crude oil, petrochemical products, and specialties.