When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 43.6x 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, Floor & Decor Holdings' earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for Floor & Decor Holdings

How Is Floor & Decor Holdings' Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Floor & Decor Holdings' to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's bottom line as the year before. Although pleasingly EPS has lifted 54% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 12% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be similar to the 13% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it interesting that Floor & Decor Holdings is trading at a high P/E compared to the market. 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 Bottom Line On Floor & Decor Holdings' P/E

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Floor & Decor Holdings currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is only in line with the wider market. When we see an average earnings outlook with market-like growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Floor & Decor Holdings with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Floor & Decor Holdings. 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.