UPDATE 2-CenturyTel profit rises after Embarq deal

* Q3 shr $0.94 vs year-ago $0.83

* Q3 rev $1.87 bln vs Wall St view $1.88 bln

* Sees Q4 sequential profit drop, revenue increase

* Shares up nearly 3 pct

(Adds analyst comment, share price update)

NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Rural telephone operator CenturyTel Inc (CTL.N), which is changing its name to CenturyLink, said its quarterly profit tripled and revenue jumped due to its July purchase of another operator Embarq.

Its profit rose to $280.8 million, or 94 cents per share from $84.7 million, or 83 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Operating revenue rose to $1.87 billion, including a $1.3 billion revenue contribution from Embarq. In comparison Wall Street had expected revenue of $1.88 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It posted revenue of $650.1 million a year earlier.

Like bigger operators such as AT&T Inc (T.N) and Verizon Communications (VZ.N), CenturyTel is facing home phone disconnections as consumers switch to cable services or depend entirely on cellphones to help cut costs.