When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 24.1x 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 as high as it is.

With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, Premier has been very sluggish. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will turn things around completely and accelerate past most others in the market. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Premier would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 56% decrease to the company's bottom line. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 58% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 50% per year during the coming three years according to the nine analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Premier's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

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

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of Premier's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for Premier that you need to take into consideration.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Premier. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com