Updating Windstream Corp., Microsoft Corp., Sysco Corp. and The Boeing Co.

Article Excerpt

WINDSTREAM CORP. $14 (New York symbol WIN; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $0.43 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2006, up 59.3% from $0.27 a year earlier. The company took its present form on July 17, 2006 through the merger of Alltel Corp.’s traditional phone business with Valor Communications Group Ltd. On a pro forma basis and excluding one-time items, per-share profits were unchanged at $0.22. Pro forma revenue fell slightly, to $794.8 million from $797.0 million. Access lines in service fell 4.2% in the latest quarter. But Windstream is doing a good job getting its Internet users to upgrade to high-speed service. That should help it offset these lost customers, and let it maintain its $1.00 dividend (7.1% yield). Windstream is a buy. MICROSOFT CORP. $30 (Nasdaq symbol MSFT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) plans to let customers of its Xbox Live online video game service download high-definition movies and…