With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 27.4x IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 18x and even P/E's lower than 10x are not unusual. 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.

IDEX's negative earnings growth of late has neither been better nor worse than most other companies. It might be that many expect the company's earnings to strengthen positively despite the tough market conditions, which has kept the P/E from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

IDEX'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 a frustrating 1.3% decrease to the company's bottom line. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 39% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 8.7% per year as estimated by the eight analysts watching the company. With the market predicted to deliver 10% growth each year, the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

In light of this, it's curious that IDEX's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On IDEX's P/E

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

Our examination of IDEX's analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are uncomfortable with the relatively high share price as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for IDEX with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than IDEX. 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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