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Weight Watchers International (WTW) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Weight Watchers International (WTW - Free Report) closed at $76.08 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.76% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.77%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.01%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.91%.

Coming into today, shares of the weight-loss program operator had lost 20.04% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Discretionary sector gained 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.11%.

WTW will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 5, 2018. On that day, WTW is projected to report earnings of $0.98 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 50.77%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $378.10 million, up 16.81% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.96 per share and revenue of $1.56 billion, which would represent changes of +79.39% and +19.32%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WTW. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.72% higher within the past month. WTW is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note WTW's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 25.25. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.89.

It is also worth noting that WTW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.44. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Consumer Services - Miscellaneous stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.46 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 118, which puts it in the top 46% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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