When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 18x, you may consider EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 22.2x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, EMCOR Group has been doing relatively well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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Is There Enough Growth For EMCOR Group?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as EMCOR Group's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 71% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 203% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 14% over the next year. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 15%, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's curious that EMCOR Group'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 Final Word

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

Our examination of EMCOR Group'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.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for EMCOR Group with six simple checks.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on EMCOR Group, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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