Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India touched eight-month highs, as they rose 3% each in intraday trade on Monday on expectations of better gains on sustained higher crude oil prices and gas receipts. Oil prices hit $86 per barrel on optimism surrounding demand from top oil importer China.

Among individual stocks, Oil India rose 3% in intraday trade on Monday to close at Rs 264.95 on the BSE. The stock has been trading at its highest level since June 16, 2022. It hit a 52-week high of Rs 306 on June 6, 2022.

Shares of the state-owned exploration and production company have soared 23% in the past month after it reported a record profit after tax (PAT) for the December quarter (Q3FY23) on better pricing and higher output of crude oil and natural gas.

Oil India has paid an interim dividend of Rs 14.50 per share for FY23. Analysts at Prbhudas Lilladher increased the FY23E dividend payout to Rs 2,420 crore from Rs 1,160 crore earlier (9MFY23 dividend payout ratio of 22.5% to Rs 14.5/sh).

Shares of ONGC were also up 3% at Rs 159.55 on the BSE. The trading volume over the counter has almost doubled today. A total of 10.7 million shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE as of 2:08 pm. However, ONGC has been up 11% over the past month but has underperformed Oil India (up 23%).