Valero Energy (VLO) Competitors

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, community ranking, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer VLO or PSX?

Valero Energy received 238 more outperform votes than Phillips 66 when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.23% of users gave Valero Energy an outperform vote while only 60.55% of users gave Phillips 66 an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Valero Energy	Outperform Votes 1050 71.23%	Underperform Votes 424 28.77%
Phillips 66	Outperform Votes 812 60.55%	Underperform Votes 529 39.45%

Do analysts recommend VLO or PSX?

Valero Energy currently has a consensus target price of $149.80, indicating a potential upside of 29.66%. Phillips 66 has a consensus target price of $136.36, indicating a potential upside of 31.96%. Given Phillips 66's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Phillips 66 is more favorable than Valero Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Valero Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94
Phillips 66	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Do insiders & institutionals believe in VLO or PSX?

78.7% of Valero Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.9% of Phillips 66 shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Valero Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Phillips 66 shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer VLO or PSX?

In the previous week, Phillips 66 had 21 more articles in the media than Valero Energy. MarketBeat recorded 73 mentions for Phillips 66 and 52 mentions for Valero Energy. Valero Energy's average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat Phillips 66's score of 0.51 indicating that Valero Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Valero Energy	24 Very Positive mention(s)	13 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Phillips 66	28 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	13 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, VLO or PSX?

Valero Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Phillips 66. Phillips 66 is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Valero Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Valero Energy	$128.38B	0.28	$2.77B	$2.83	40.82
Phillips 66	$143.15B	0.29	$2.12B	$4.94	20.92

Is VLO or PSX a better dividend stock?

Valero Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Phillips 66 pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Valero Energy pays out 159.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Phillips 66 pays out 97.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Phillips 66 has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Phillips 66 is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, VLO or PSX?

Valero Energy has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Phillips 66 has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is VLO or PSX more profitable?

Valero Energy has a net margin of 2.13% compared to Phillips 66's net margin of 1.46%. Valero Energy's return on equity of 9.58% beat Phillips 66's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Valero Energy	2.13%	9.58%	4.37%
Phillips 66	1.46%	8.58%	3.43%

Summary

Valero Energy beats Phillips 66 on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.