Coinstar Plunges After-Hours on Weak Guidance

Shares of Coinstar

, the operator of the Redbox line of DVD rental kiosks, plunged by more than seven percent in Thursday's after-hours session after the company issued weak fiscal first-quarter guidance. Washington-based Coinstar said it expects a first-quarter profit of 77 cents to 92 cents per share on revenue of $568 million to $593 million. Analysts are expecting a profit of $1.22 a share on $628.8 million in revenue. Coinstar reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $22.9 million, or 75 cents a share, on revenue of $564.1 million, down from $31.5 million, or $1.04 a share, on $466 million in sales a year earlier. Analysts expected EPS of 74 cents on revenue of $577 million. Free cash flow from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $77.3 million, compared with $100.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, bringing the total to $255.9 million for the full year of 2012,

. Coinstar repurchased $76.7 million worth of its own shares during the fourth quarter. The stock rose 1.5 percent on more than double the average daily volume during Thursday's regular trading session.