With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 32.4x Aon plc (NYSE:AON) 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. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, Aon has been very sluggish. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will turn things around completely and accelerate past most others in the market. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

Is There Enough Growth For Aon?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Aon would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 11% decrease to the company's bottom line. Even so, admirably EPS has lifted 179% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. 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 19% each year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 11% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Aon's 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 Aon's P/E

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.

As we suspected, our examination of Aon's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Aon (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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