The Nifty PSE index, one which comprises of the top 20 state-run companies of the country, is down 7% so far this week. This is the second instance in the last four weeks when the index has declined 6% or more. For the week that ended on December 22, the index had declined over 6.5% as well.

19 out of the 20 stocks on the PSE index are trading with losses for the week. Three stocks, REC, PFC and IRFC are down over 10% for the week. However, only one stock has managed to hold on to gains for the week, even after the index underperformance. That stock is Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC).

Shares of ONGC are up 1% for the week, in an index where the second-best weekly performer (IRCTC) is down 3.1%.

ONGC shares may have declined in three out of the five trading days this week, and are also down on Friday, but they gained 3.6% on Tuesday and 3% on Wednesday.

The rise in crude oil prices is acting as a tailwind for ONGC with Brent Crude having crossed $77 per barrel.

Another positive trigger from ONGC came via brokerage firm CLSA, who upgraded the stock to a “high-conviction outperform” earlier this week, with a price target of ₹360.

CLSA’s price target implied a potential upside of over 40% from current levels for the state-run upstream oil explorer.

The brokerage wrote in its note that the removal of windfall tax will enable ONGC to earn a higher realisation as compared to $75 per barrel, provided crude prices continue to recover.

Despite multiple triggers going in its favour, ONGC trades at a material discount not only to its own historical multiples, but to those of its peers as well, CLSA wrote in its note, adding that ONGC also comes with an attractive dividend yield of 6%.

Out of the 30 analysts that have coverage on ONGC, 20 of them have a “buy” rating on the stock, while five each have a “hold” and “sell” rating.

Shares of ONGC are off the lows of the day, but are trading 0.6% lower on Friday at ₹262.