There wouldn't be many who think Central Garden & Pet Company's (NASDAQ:CENT) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 18x is worth a mention when the median P/E in the United States is similar at about 17x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/E ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Central Garden & Pet has been doing quite well of late. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to deteriorate like the rest, which has kept the P/E from rising. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Central Garden & Pet's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the market for P/E ratios like Central Garden & Pet's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 41%. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 31% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 3.4% each year as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. With the market predicted to deliver 10% growth per annum, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we find it interesting that Central Garden & Pet is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. Apparently many investors in the company are less bearish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On Central Garden & Pet's P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our examination of Central Garden & Pet's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn't impacting its P/E as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for Central Garden & Pet that you need to take into consideration.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Central Garden & Pet, 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.