Sifting through countless of stocks in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Western Midstream Partners, LP or Valero Energy Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing of produced water. It also buys and sells residue, NGLs, and condensates. The company operates assets located in Texas, New Mexico, and the Rocky Mountains. It also provides water handling solutions. The company was formerly known as Western Gas Equity Partners, LP and changed its name to Western Midstream Partners, LP in February 2019. Western Midstream Partners, LP was incorporated in 2007 and is based in The Woodlands, Texas.

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CARBOB) and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CBOB) gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and asphalt; feedstocks; aromatics; sulfur and residual fuel oil; intermediate oils; and sulfur, sweet, and sour crude oils. It sells its refined products through wholesale rack and bulk markets; and through outlets under the Valero, Beacon, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Texaco brands. The company also owns and operates renewable diesel and ethanol plants, as well as produces and sells renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and neat sustainable aviation fuel under the Diamond Green Diesel brand name. In addition, it offers ethanol and various co-products, including dry distillers grains, syrup, and inedible distillers corn oil to animal feed customers. The company was formerly known as Valero Refining and Marketing Company and changed its name to Valero Energy Corporation in August 1997. Valero Energy Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Latest Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and Western Midstream Partners, LP, Valero Energy Corporation Stock News

As of September 14, 2026, Western Midstream Partners, LP had a $19.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels median of $2.8 million. Western Midstream Partners, LP’s stock is up 21.2% in 2026, down 3.4% in the previous five trading days and up 24.79% in the past year.

Currently, Western Midstream Partners, LP’s price-earnings ratio is 15.1. Western Midstream Partners, LP’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.3 billion with a 29.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 30.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.680 per share for the current fiscal year. Western Midstream Partners, LP currently has a 7.8% dividend yield.

As of September 14, 2026, Valero Energy Corporation had a $110.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. Valero Energy Corporation’s stock is up 135.2% in 2026, up 3.3% in the previous five trading days and up 143% in the past year.

Currently, Valero Energy Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 16.0. Valero Energy Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $132.4 billion with a 5.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 51.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $45.639 per share for the current fiscal year. Valero Energy Corporation currently has a 1.3% dividend yield.

How We Compare Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Western Midstream Partners, LP	WES	C
Valero Energy Corporation	VLO	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Western Midstream Partners, LP has a Value Score of 46, which is Average. Valero Energy Corporation has a Value Score of 77, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Valero Energy Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Valero Energy Corporation is considered to have better value than Western Midstream Partners, LP. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Valero Energy Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Western Midstream Partners, LP	WES	A
Valero Energy Corporation	VLO	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Western Midstream Partners, LP has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Valero Energy Corporation has a Growth Score of 48, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Western Midstream Partners, LP

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Western Midstream Partners, LP has a more attractive growth grade than Valero Energy Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Western Midstream Partners, LP could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Western Midstream Partners, LP	WES	B
Valero Energy Corporation	VLO	A

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Western Midstream Partners, LP has a Earnings Estimate Score of 75, which is Positive. Valero Energy Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 89, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Valero Energy Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Valero Energy Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Western Midstream Partners, LP. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Valero Energy Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Western Midstream Partners, LP or Valero Energy Corporation Stock?

Overall, Western Midstream Partners, LP stock has a Value Score of 46, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 75.

Valero Energy Corporation stock has a Value Score of 77, Growth Score of 48 and Estimate Revisions Score of 89.

Comparing Western Midstream Partners, LP and Valero Energy Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.