RBC Capital recently raised its price target on Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) to $57 from $55 and maintained a "sector perform" rating on the stock. My take on a "sector perform" rating is that it is a de facto sell rating, because investors might as well hold the sector through an ETF and eliminate the stock-specific risk inherent in holding one stock.

That said, the $57 price target still represents a nearly 12% upside from the current price, and what the RBC Capital analyst said is also very interesting.

The company's recent first-quarter earnings report showed that it delivered on its promise to improve well productivity by investing in its core assets in the Delaware Basin. Delivered volumes were 4% above plan to 664,000 barrels of oil equivalent (Boe/d), or 664 MBoe/d in short, for the quarter. Moreover, management raised its full-year production forecast by 2%, to a range between 655 MBoe/d to 675 MBoe/d, from a previous estimate of 650 MBoe/d.

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Source Fool.com