When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider ReposiTrak, Inc. (NYSE:TRAK) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 59.1x 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.

Earnings have risen firmly for ReposiTrak recently, which is pleasing to see. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Growth For ReposiTrak?

ReposiTrak's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 30% last year. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 142% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 11% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why ReposiTrak is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Presumably shareholders aren't keen to offload something they believe will continue to outmanoeuvre the bourse.

What We Can Learn From ReposiTrak's P/E?

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that ReposiTrak maintains its high P/E on the strength of its recent three-year growth being higher than the wider market forecast, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

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

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on ReposiTrak, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.