(Image source: thebullogic.com) Shares of the oil and natural gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) are advancing this mornings as a result of an increase in quarterly dividends and the company’s share buyback program. The company hiked quarterly dividends to $0.74 per share, which amounted to a 13 percent increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.64. Occidental Petroleum also authorized an additional increase of 30 million shares to its share buyback program. According to the CEO, the dividend hike and share buybacks are an indication of the company’s confidence about future growth.