When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 17x, you may consider Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 37.8x P/E ratio. 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.

Vulcan Materials certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Vulcan Materials.

How Is Vulcan Materials' Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Vulcan Materials' to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 49%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 35% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 17% per annum as estimated by the analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 10% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that Vulcan Materials' 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.

What We Can Learn From Vulcan Materials' 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 Vulcan Materials' 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.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Vulcan Materials, and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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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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.