When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 26.4x 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.

Recent earnings growth for Air Products and Chemicals has been in line with the market. It might be that many expect the mediocre earnings performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/E from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Air Products and Chemicals

How Is Air Products and Chemicals' Growth Trending?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's bottom line as the year before. Regardless, EPS has managed to lift by a handy 20% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 19% each year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 13% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Air Products and Chemicals' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of Air Products and Chemicals' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Air Products and Chemicals that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Air Products and Chemicals. 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.