UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Cuts PT to $40 on CenturyLink Post Structural Change

Stifel Nicolaus maintained CenturyLink

with a Buy rating and lowered the price target from $45.00 to $40.00. Stifel Nicolaus noted, "Following CenturyLink's 22.6% decline on Thursday following the announcement of a 26% dividend cut and a $2 billion two-year buyback authorization, we remain as perplexed as we were on Wednesday evening of the company's rationale for the dramatic capital structure change, however we view the sell-off as overdone." CenturyLink closed at $32.27 on Thursday.