During this timeframe the stock has traded north of USD15, in February 2007, and south of USD7, in March 2009.

After reaching a recent peak of USD14.21 in December 2010 Windstream has been in a long downtrend, trading as low as USD8.18 in mid-November 2012.

It’s already been a volatile year for the stock, which opened 2013 at USD8.28, rallied to USD10 on Jan. 14 and cratered to USD8.39 as of Feb. 21.

But Windstream closed at USD9.81 as recently as Feb. 13. The recent swoon is all about the Feb. 14 announcement by the largest independent telecom, CenturyLink Inc (NYSE: CTL) that it was cutting its distribution by 26 percent.

CenturyLink went from USD41.69 to USD32.27 within a single trading session.

And its announcement immediately led to speculation that other high-yielding stocks–particularly high-yielding independent telecoms–are headed for dividend cuts. Hence Windstream’s and several other similar companies’ steep declines.

This speculation also manifested itself in a sharp rise in the “short interest” in other high yield stocks, particularly in the communications sector. Frontier Communications Corp (NYSE: FTR), for example, has short volume equivalent to more than 21 percent of its shares outstanding.

Windstream’s short interest is now up to 11 percent. That’s despite the fact that the company reported solid fourth-quarter and full-year operating and financial results for 2012. Management also, rather forcefully, reiterated its commitment to the current dividend rate.

Opportunity is knocking for aggressive Big Yield Hunters. Buy under USD11.