When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 18x, you may consider Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 26x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

Recent times have been pleasing for Air Products and Chemicals as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Air Products and Chemicals would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 18% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 31% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 12% per annum during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 10% per year, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's curious that Air Products and Chemicals' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly average growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Although, additional gains will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the share price eventually.

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.

We've established that Air Products and Chemicals currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is only in line with the wider market. Right now we are uncomfortable with the relatively high share price as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Air Products and Chemicals that you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Air Products and Chemicals, 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.