NEW YORK, June 27, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against CenturyLink, Inc. ("CenturyLink" or the "Company") (NYSE:CTL) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and docketed under 13 CV 4453, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of CenturyLink between August 8, 2012 and February 14, 2013 both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against the Company and certain of its officers and directors as a result of alleged violations of the federal securities laws pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
If you are a shareholder who purchased CenturyLink securities during the Class Period, you have until August 05, 2013 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
CenturyLink is the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States. CenturyLink provides communications and data services to residential, business, governmental, and wholesale customers.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: the Defendants falsely represented through multiple shareholder presentations, press releases, conference calls, and SEC filings that it was financially capable of maintaining its historical dividend payments.
As a result of Defendants' materially false and misleading statements, CenturyLink common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching an intraday high of $42.99 on September 6, 2012. At the same time that Defendants were artificially inflating the price of CenturyLink stock, Defendant Glen F. Post, III ("Post"), CenturyLink's President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), was selling over $4.3 million worth of stock. Post's sales were unusual in both timing and amount.
On February 13, 2013, CenturyLink shocked the market when it disclosed that it was immediately slashing its quarterly dividend by over 25%, from $0.725 to $0.54 per share. At the same time, Century Link announced authorization to repurchase up to $2.0 billion of the Company's outstanding common stock. On this news, the stock price plummeted on extremely high volume of over 70 million shares traded, dropping from $41.69 on February 13, 2013 to close at $32.27 on February 14, 2013, a decline of over 22%.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and San Diego, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.