Weight Watchers is the better choice

Article Excerpt

WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL $44.34 (New York symbol WTW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (212-589-2700; www.weightwatchers.com; Shares outstanding: 64.4 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; No dividends paid) offers weight-loss services in 23 countries. The company promotes a program of lifestyle changes through 36,000 weekly meetings and its website. Weight Watchers continues to increase its membership: its number of active subscribers stood at 3.4 million on September 30, 2017. That’s an 18.4% rise from 2.8 million a year earlier. For the three months ended September 30, 2017, the company’s revenue rose 15.3%, to $323.7 million from $280.8 million, a year earlier. Weight Watchers earned $44.7 million in the latest quarter. That’s up 29.0% from $34.7 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 23.7%, to $0.65 from $0.53, on more shares outstanding. Oprah Winfrey, who owns 10% of the company’s shares, has appeared in advertisements for Weight Watchers since late 2015. She has also used social media to share her own experiences while on its lifestyle…