Buy, hold, or sell? Coles, Wesfarmers, BHP shares

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are in the red on Tuesday as the war in Iran and the global oil shock continues.

ASX 200 shares are trading at 8,918.1 points, down 0.4% at the time of writing.

Iran will reportedly participate in a second round of talks with US officials in Islamabad before the two-week ceasefire ends.

Meanwhile on The Bull this week, two experts have provided their views on three popular ASX 200 shares.

Let’s see what they had to say.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The Coles share price is $22.70, down 0.53% today and up 6.4% in the year to date (YTD).

Dylan Evans from Catapult Wealth has a buy rating on this ASX 200 consumer staples giant.

Evans said:

The supermarket giant posted a solid first half result in fiscal year 2026, maintaining margins and delivering earnings before interest and tax growth of 10.2 per per cent.

Coles has continued to grow its share of own-brand sales, leverage its quality locations into home delivery and online sales growth and expand locations to capture population growth.

The Middle East conflict and its inflationary impacts may be a short term disruption, but an inflationary environment is somewhat cushioned for supermarkets, particularly compared to more discretionary sectors.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price is $74.26, down 0.5% today and down 18.5% over the past six months.

Wesfarmers is the largest company by market capitalisation in the ASX 200 consumer discretionary market sector.

John Athanasiou from Red Leaf Securities has a sell rating on Wesfarmers shares.

He says recent trading suggests slowing consumer demand and cost pressures are weighing on investor sentiment.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index dropped 12.5% to 80.1 this month.

That’s the biggest fall since the start of the pandemic.

It signals that people are worried about the ongoing oil price shock and an anticipated increase in inflation and interest rates.

Athanasiou said:

With much of its value already priced in amid a mixed outlook on near term retail growth, Wesfarmers lacks fresh catalysts to drive meaningful upside.

Trimming positions into strength may be prudent for investors seeking a better risk-reward proposition.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is $55.68, down 0.02% today and up 52.5% over the past 12 months.

BHP is the largest ASX 200 mining share on the Australian share market.

Athanasiou has a hold rating on BHP shares.

BHP is one of the world’s largest diversified miners, with high quality assets in iron ore, copper and energy minerals. The company generates strong cash flows and dividends, benefiting from its scale and operational efficiency.

However, BHP’s performance is closely tied to volatile commodity cycles, particularly iron ore prices and global demand, which can cap near term valuation expansion.

While long-term fundamentals in key metals remain robust, with electrification and decarbonisation trends supporting copper demand, the stock is fairly priced and may trade sideways until clearer commodity drivers emerge.

The post Buy, hold, or sell? Coles, Wesfarmers, BHP shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in BHP Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.