Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 2% in subdued intraday trade on Thursday, hitting a more than six-month high of Rs 151.80 on the BSE, citing solid earnings growth ahead.

Shares of the state-owned oil exploration and production company traded at their highest level since June 30, 2022. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.36% at 60,824 at 2:26 pm.

Over the past three months, ONGC has gained nearly 20%, compared with a 3% gain for the benchmark index.

Over the past three years, ONGC’s dividend payments have accounted for about 33% of its consolidated profit after tax. According to analysts, this would imply a strong dividend yield of 13.6% for FY23, in addition to the perfect mix of production growth and better gas sector profitability.