When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 29x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

The recently shrinking earnings for Teleflex have been in line with the market. It might be that many expect the company's earnings to strengthen positively despite the tough market conditions, which has kept the P/E from falling. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Teleflex's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 1.6% decrease to the company's bottom line. Regardless, EPS has managed to lift by a handy 5.2% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 15% per annum during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Teleflex is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Final Word

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Teleflex maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Teleflex with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.