When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 45x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Medpace Holdings 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. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Is There Enough Growth For Medpace Holdings?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 22% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 126% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 18% per annum during the coming three years according to the seven analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 10% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Medpace Holdings' 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 Bottom Line On Medpace Holdings' P/E

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 Medpace Holdings maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. 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.

It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for Medpace Holdings that you need to take into consideration.

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.