The Oprah factor pays off

Article Excerpt

WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL $13.25 (New York symbol WTW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (212-589-2700; www.weightwatchers.com; Shares outstanding: 63.6 million; Market cap: $852.8 million; No dividends paid) has increased its membership for the first time in four years. The number of active subscribers stood at 3.06 million on April 2, 2016. That’s a 4.8% rise from 2.92 million a year ago. Oprah Winfrey bought 10% of the company in October 2015. Her goal has been to promote it and help reverse its steady decline over the last decade. She has appeared in advertisements for Weight Watchers since late last year and used social media to share her experiences with its lifestyle programs. Winfrey has also used emails and conference calls to interact with others on the plan. Weight Watchers is a buy for aggressive investors. investors…