Jefferies upgrades Ahold Delhaize, shrugs off US fears

** Jefferies upgrades Dutch food retailer Ahold Delhaize AD.AS to "buy" from "hold", saying that recent market fears about U.S. competition are "overplayed"

** "Recent months have seen a trio of issues come to weigh on AD, in the form of US$, price competition worries, and Amazon's renewed focus on its food business. We think these fears are overplayed," the broker says

** Jefferies raises its PT by over 6% to 42 euros, cites accelerating top-line growth in both the U.S. and Europe as key drivers

** U.S. margin pressures have troughed as volumes recover, while dilution from the recent Profi acquisition in Romania is set to fade, the broker adds

** A renewed push into online grocery by competitors could provoke industry consolidation, with a hypothetical merger with Kroger seen as accretive for shareholders

** "AD's ability to deliver US sales improvements and Europe margin expansion provides peace of mind not easily found elsewhere," Jefferies adds

** Out of 16 analysts that cover Ahold Delhaize, eight rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", ​six rate it "hold" and two​ rate it "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG data