With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 53.1x DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DV) 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 17x 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.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, DoubleVerify 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. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Keen to find out how analysts think DoubleVerify Holdings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Is There Enough Growth For DoubleVerify Holdings?

DoubleVerify Holdings' 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.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 11%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 601% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 24% per year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 10% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that DoubleVerify Holdings' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On DoubleVerify 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.

As we suspected, our examination of DoubleVerify Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for DoubleVerify Holdings with six simple checks.

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