The Gorman-Rupp Company's (NYSE:GRC) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 29.5x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 16x and even P/E's below 9x are quite common. 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.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Gorman-Rupp has been doing quite well of late. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is Gorman-Rupp's Growth Trending?

Gorman-Rupp's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 211% gain to the company's bottom line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 38% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 24% as estimated by the dual analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 11%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Gorman-Rupp's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Final Word

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.

We've established that Gorman-Rupp 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.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for Gorman-Rupp that we have uncovered.

You might be able to find a better investment than Gorman-Rupp. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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