Auriga Downgrades Weight Watchers (WTW) to Hold; Better Entry Point After Dutch Auction
Tweet
Share
E-mailGet Alerts WTW Hot Sheet
Price: $331.59 -0.72%
Rating Summary:
15 Buy, 11 Hold, 0 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 13 | Down: 14 | New: 11
Rating Summary:
15 Buy, 11 Hold, 0 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 13 | Down: 14 | New: 11
Join SI Premium – FREE
Auriga downgraded Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) from Buy to Hold, price target raised from $87 to $89.
Auriga analyst says, "WTW reported 4Q11 & FY11 results in which EPS of $0.86 was $0.01 higher than our estimate but revenue of $401 million was about $20 million lower than we expected, mostly due to reduced product sales. The focus however remains on its 2012 guidance, which is cautious due to the tough comps as well as difficulties in its retail store renovations and corporate business initiatives. Attendance and paid weeks in North America are expected to be lower during the first half, which combined with higher costs, especially in marketing, spurred us to reduce our income expectations. At the same time, the company announced a share repurchase for about $1.5 billion, which should be accretive in 2012. Substantially due to the share buyback, we are raising our EPS estimate to $4.96 for FY12 and $5.90 for FY13."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Weight Watchers click here. For more ratings news on Weight Watchers click here.
Shares of Weight Watchers closed at $79.34 yesterday.
Auriga analyst says, "WTW reported 4Q11 & FY11 results in which EPS of $0.86 was $0.01 higher than our estimate but revenue of $401 million was about $20 million lower than we expected, mostly due to reduced product sales. The focus however remains on its 2012 guidance, which is cautious due to the tough comps as well as difficulties in its retail store renovations and corporate business initiatives. Attendance and paid weeks in North America are expected to be lower during the first half, which combined with higher costs, especially in marketing, spurred us to reduce our income expectations. At the same time, the company announced a share repurchase for about $1.5 billion, which should be accretive in 2012. Substantially due to the share buyback, we are raising our EPS estimate to $4.96 for FY12 and $5.90 for FY13."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Weight Watchers click here. For more ratings news on Weight Watchers click here.
Shares of Weight Watchers closed at $79.34 yesterday.
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- WTW research warns of global vulnerabilities from concentrated lithium supply chains as critical mineral demand grows
- Stantec Inc. (STN:CN) (STN) PT Lowered to Cdn$169 at Desjardins
- Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV:IN) PT Raised to INR375 at ICICI Securities
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Analyst EPS Change, Analyst EPS View, Analyst PT Change, DowngradesRelated Entities
Stock Buyback, AurigaSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
