Shares of GAIL India rose 5% in intraday trade on Wednesday, hitting an eight-month high of Rs 103.30 on the BSE on heavy volume. Shares of the state-owned natural gas transmission/sales company were quoted at their highest level since June 2022. It made a 52-week high of Rs 116 on April 19, 2022.

At 1:24 pm, GAIL India was trading 4.7% higher at Rs 102.65, while the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.37%. The average trading volume over the counters doubled, with 34.11 million shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE.

GAIL India is a natural gas utility company with multiple business units such as Gas Transmission and Trading, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), LLH and Petrochemicals. It will operate 14,500 km of gas pipeline network by the end of fiscal 2022. The company is also directly involved in City Gas Distribution (CGD) or through associate companies.

Meanwhile, analysts maintained their “buy” rating on the stock. They are optimistic about the future despite weaker-than-expected profitability in the third quarter due to lower margins across all segments.