On December 3, Gronghui reported that Jefferies Financial upgraded the rating of the food retailer The Kroger from "hold" to "buy," and raised the target price from $54 to $73. The analyst stated that traffic trends for The Kroger improved in October, and the fuel business, as an "incremental," is currently more profitable structurally than before the pandemic. Even though the merger with competitor Albertsons for $25 billion did not materialize, The Kroger will retain $6 billion of the $10.5 billion debt it raised and may use it for share buybacks, thus increasing eps. If the trade succeeds, The Kroger has the opportunity to achieve more synergies to better compete with Walmart, Costco, and amazon. In August, the USA Federal Trade Commission advocated blocking the merger on the grounds that grocery prices could skyrocket. (Gronghui)