The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, June 28, edition that RBC Dominion Securities analyst Greg Pardy hiked his rating on Penn West Petroleum to "sector perform" from "underperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Parky elevated his one-year share target to $2 from 90 cents. Analysts on average target the shares at $1.49. Mr. Pardy says his upgrade came in reaction to the $975-million sale of Penn West's Viking Dodsland property in Saskatchewan and a realigned strategy. He says, "The past two years have probably been the most difficult conditions that Penn West has confronted since its inception, but its jumbo $975-million sale of its Saskatchewan properties has reshaped its debt metrics and served to eliminate financial covenant concerns for the foreseeable future." He adds in a note: "Penn West's realigned strategy is built around its Cardium play, where we peg WTI supply costs (15 per cent pre-tax IRR) at approximately $46/bbl, with the Peace River Oil Partnership and Alberta Viking playing supporting roles. The company is targeting long-term average annual production growth of 10 per cent (based on current oil and natural gas prices), from a production base that we peg at 22,200 boe/d in 2017."