With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 42.7x iFAST Corporation Ltd. (SGX:AIY) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Singapore have P/E ratios under 11x and even P/E's lower than 7x are not unusual. 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.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, iFAST has been doing relatively well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is iFAST's Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as iFAST's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 420%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 66% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 29% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 9.9% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why iFAST is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From iFAST'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.

We've established that iFAST maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, 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. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for iFAST with six simple checks.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.