When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 18x, you may consider RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 25.4x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

RPM International 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. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

Is There Enough Growth For RPM International?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, RPM International would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 23% gain to the company's bottom line. EPS has also lifted 17% in aggregate from three years ago, mostly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been respectable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 19% during the coming year according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 15% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why RPM International is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On RPM International'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.

We've established that RPM International maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for RPM International that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than RPM International. 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.