When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 20x, you may consider Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCTR) as an attractive investment with its 15.7x 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 limited.

Recent times have been advantageous for Victory Capital Holdings as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Victory Capital Holdings' Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as Victory Capital Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 31%. The latest three year period has also seen a 5.6% overall rise in EPS, aided extensively by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been respectable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eight analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 21% over the next year. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 15% growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Victory Capital Holdings' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

What We Can Learn From Victory Capital Holdings' 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 Victory Capital Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Victory Capital Holdings that you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and 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.