US Top Rating Updates on 10/17: KR, NET, PLD, WLK and More

$The Kroger (KR.US)$ is pausing share buybacks ahead of its planned acquisition of rival $Albertsons Companies (ACI.US)$, aiming to use the additional cash to reduce its debt as it closes on of the biggest deals in U.S. grocery-industry history, The Wall Street Journal's Kristin Broughton reports. Kroger said Friday that it will pay for the $24.6 billion deal with cash and proceeds from a new debt financing.

Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson downgraded $Fox Corp-A (FOXA.US)$ to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $36, down from $41. Fox is increasingly facing a "shift to unfavorable" fiscal 2024 drivers that do not appear fully factored into consensus, including political and Super Bowl compares and the first year Sunday NFL step-up, Mitchelson tells investors in a research note.

Raymond James analyst David Long upgraded $First Republic Bank (FRC.US)$ to Strong Buy from Market Perform with a $143 price target following the Q3 results. Long believes the stock price weakness following the results and "solid" fundamentals was undeserved, as core fundamentals remain solid with loan and deposit growth exceeding expectations, and credit metrics remaining pristine, the analyst tells investors in a research note.