Weight Watchers on track

Article Excerpt

WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL $10.99 (New York symbol WTW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (212-589-2700; www.weightwatchers.com; Shares outstanding: 63.8 million; Market cap: $723.6 million; No dividends paid) continues to increase its membership: the number of active subscribers stood at 2.94 million on July 2, 2016. That’s a 5.0% rise from 2.80 million a year ago. In the three months ended July 2, 2016, revenue was unchanged from a year earlier at $309.8 million. The company earned $30.5 million in the quarter, up 9.3%. Per-share earnings fell 6.1%, to $0.46 from $0.49, on more shares outstanding. That matched the consensus estimate. Oprah Winfrey bought 10% of Weight Watchers in October 2015 and has appeared in its advertisements since then. She has also used social media to share her own experiences on its lifestyle programs. The company now expects to earn between $0.90 and $1.05 a share for all of 2016. The shares trade at 11.3 times the midpoint of that estimate. Any additional…