Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) shares are taking a beating today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) Aussie fuel supplier closed on Friday trading for $36.45. In early afternoon trade on Monday, shares are changing hands for $34.21 apiece, down 6.2%.
For some context the ASX 200 is up 1.3% while the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is down 5.3% at this same time.
While many ASX shares are rallying today, ASX energy stocks are broadly underperforming amid news that the US and Iran have agreed to a peace deal to end the Middle East conflict.
With oil tankers potentially beginning to move through the critical Strait of Hormuz again later this week, the Brent crude oil price is down 4.9% to US$83.06 per barrel. This sees the Brent crude oil price down 25% from the US$110.40 per barrel it was trading for a month ago.
Despite today's underperformance, Ampol shares remain up 32.7% over the past 12 months, racing ahead of the 4.4% one-year gains delivered by the benchmark index.
And that's not including Ampol's two fully franked dividends, totalling $1.00 a share, which eligible stockholders will have received over this period.
Ampol trades on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 2.9%.
With this performance in mind, we return to our headline question.
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Ampol shares: Buy, hold or sell?
DP Wealth Advisory's Andrew Wielandt ran his slide rule over the ASX 200 energy stock late last week, prior to the latest Middle East peace deal announcement.
"Ampol is Australia's biggest petrol and convenience network," he said (quoted by The Bull). "It also owns the Lytton oil refinery in Queensland."
Wielandt noted:
The Middle East crisis is positive for the company's refining margins and earnings growth is expected to continue moving forward. The convenience retail segment provides the benefit of diversification.
But taking into account the outsized gains already delivered by Ampol shares, Wielandt concluded, "A significantly increasing share price in the past 12 months reflects market optimism, so ALD remains a hold at these levels."
Consider this ASX ETF instead
Wielandt isn't ready to pull the buy trigger on Ampol shares at current levels.
But he sounded a bullish note on an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds ASX giants like Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares.
Namely the BetaShares FTSE Rafi Australia 200 ETF (ASX: QOZ).
"This exchange traded fund offers a point of difference from many other ETFs," Wielandt said.
"It considers fundamental size or economic footprint of a business, rather than just its market capitalisation. Consequently, this ETF focuses more on value businesses," he added.
Summarising his buy recommendation on the ASX ETF, Wielandt concluded:
The ETF has posted returns of 10.87% per annum over the past five years and 19.12% in the past year to May 29, 2026. Consistent performance is appealing during volatile times.
