When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 25.8x 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 times have been advantageous for Comfort Systems USA as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Comfort Systems USA

How Is Comfort Systems USA's Growth Trending?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 27%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 109% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the three analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 16% over the next year. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10%, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Comfort Systems USA 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 Final Word

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.

We've established that Comfort Systems USA maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Comfort Systems USA has 1 warning sign we think 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.