CenturyTel Dividend to Jump

Word Count: 466 | Companies Featured in This Article: CenturyTel, Windstream Looking to jumpstart its stock price, rural phone carrier CenturyTel Inc. unveiled a whopping tenfold increase in its dividend and said it would speed its share-repurchase program. CenturyTel's stock price surged 18% Tuesday after the Monroe, La., telecommunications provider, which operates 2.1 million access lines in 25 states, said it would boost its annual cash dividend to $2.80 a share from 27 cents a share. CenturyTel shares rose $5.53 to $36.78 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The company also said the remaining $385 million of its $750 million buyback... [read full story]