CACI International Inc (NYSE:CACI) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 27% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Still, a bad month hasn't completely ruined the past year with the stock gaining 29%, which is great even in a bull market.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about CACI International's P/E ratio of 20.4x, since the median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio in the United States is also close to 19x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

CACI International certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think this strong earnings performance might be about to tail off. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

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

CACI International's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 23%. As a result, it also grew EPS by 9.0% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably been satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 9.6% per year as estimated by the twelve analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 11% each year, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's understandable that CACI International's P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders are comfortable to simply hold on while the company is keeping a low profile.

What We Can Learn From CACI International's P/E?

Following CACI International's share price tumble, its P/E is now hanging on to the median market P/E. 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 CACI International maintains its moderate P/E off the back of its forecast growth being in line with the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement or deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a high or low P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with CACI International.

If you're unsure about the strength of CACI International's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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