** Shares of discount retailer Dollar General DG.N rise nearly 2% to $135.9 premarket
** J.P.Morgan upgrades the stock rating to "overweight" from "neutral"; raises PT to $166 from $128
** Expects DG to continue growing sales in existing stores over the next few years
** This growth will come from opening new stores, upgrading and remodeling current ones, and making changes like reorganizing products and improving value for customers, says brokerage
** The company also benefits from a favorable macro backdrop for its core consumer and from trends where shoppers either trade up or trade down to different price points - JPM
** Average rating of 30 analysts is "buy"; median PT $130 - data compiled by LSEG
** As of last close, shares up nearly 76% YTD
(Reporting by Akriti Shah in Bengaluru)
((akriti.shah@thomsonreuters.com))
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