CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) reported higher fourth quarter earnings of 37 cents per share compared with 18 cents per share in the year ago period but the results fell short of analyst expectations and the telecommunications company cut its quarterly dividend from $0.725 per share to $0.54 per share. The stock price plummeted $9.07 to $32.62. Shares of rivals Frontier Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: FTR) lost 28 cents to $4.22 and Windstream Corp. (Nasdaq: WIN) fell 71 cents to $9.11.