Shares of oil companies Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India rose 4% on the BSE in intraday trade on Wednesday on an improving earnings outlook. Analysts said that rising crude oil prices and the realisation of natural gas could bring better profitability for upstream companies.

ONGC and Oil India have outperformed the market over the past month, surging 7% and 10%, respectively. The S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.56% over the same period.

At 2:20 pm, Oil India was up 4% at Rs 257.05 on the BSE, while ONGC was up 2% at Rs 154.80. In contrast, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.8% to 59,429. Oil India (dividend of Rs 10 per share) and ONGC (dividend of Rs 4 per share) ended their respective interim dividend ex-dates on February 22 and February 24, respectively.

Last month, on February 15, the government cut the windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil to Rs 4,350 per tonne from Rs 5,050 per tonne. The Centre imposes a windfall tax on profits earned by oil producers above $75 a barrel.

Analysts reiterated their buy call on the stock with a target price of Rs 198 per share as the visibility of the positive results increased.