International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 25% share price jump in the last month. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 79% in the last year.

After such a large jump in price, given close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 18x, you may consider International Paper as a stock to avoid entirely with its 48.7x 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 so lofty.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, International Paper's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this poor earnings performance will turn the corner. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Is There Enough Growth For International Paper?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 44% decrease to the company's bottom line. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 48% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 46% per annum during the coming three years according to the ten analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 11% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why International Paper 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.

The Key Takeaway

International Paper's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. 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 International Paper's 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 International Paper 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.