With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 37.3x Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 16x and even P/E's lower than 9x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, Flowers Foods has been very sluggish. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Growth For Flowers Foods?

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

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 41%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 45% in total over the last three years. 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 34% per annum during the coming three years according to the seven analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Flowers Foods is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Flowers Foods' 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 Flowers Foods' 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. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 4 warning signs for Flowers Foods that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Flowers Foods. 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.

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