Updating WINDSTREAM CORP., SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO., and PROCTER & GAMBLE CO.

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WINDSTREAM CORP. $12 (Nasdaq symbol WIN; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 515.8 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 8.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.windstream.com) has completed its purchase of PAETEC Holding Corp., which sells telecommunication services to businesses in 46 states. Windstream paid $891 million in stock and assumed $1.4 billion of PAETEC’s debt. That gives the deal a total value of $2.3 billion. This is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Windstream. Its recent purchases pushed up its revenue by 6.0% in the third quarter of 2011, to $1.0 billion from $965.8 million a year earlier. However, the costs of integrating these new operations cut its earnings by 16.1%, to $71.5 million, or $0.14 a share, from $85.2 million, or $0.18 a share. As a result of the PAETEC purchase, Windstream will now get 70% of its revenue from selling highspeed Internet and business services. That cuts its reliance on its slow-growing home phone business…