NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Supervalu (SVU)  are up 8.48% to $4.99 in mid-afternoon trading as the company's fiscal year earnings were increased this morning to $0.75 from $0.74 for 2017 and to $0.80 from $0.77 for 2018 at Deutsche Bank

The firm increased estimates after the Eden Prairie, MN-based retail grocery network announced a long-term supply agreement with Marsh Supermarkets to be its "primary grocery wholesaler and to provide certain professional services." 

Deutsche called the deal "a nice win for Supervalu" as Marsh operates 70 supermarkets and markets across Indiana and Ohio, as well as 38 pharmacy locations. The agreement is also "timely" as Supervalu is expected to separate from Save-A-Lot this Fall.  

Despite the increase in the fiscal year earnings estimates, the firm maintains a "hold" rating for Supervalu due to "uncertainty around the TSA, the challenging competitive environment and the lack of food inflation."

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

We rate SUPERVALU INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth and increase in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including poor profit margins, weak operating cash flow and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.

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