What You Can Learn From BellRing Brands, Inc.'s (NYSE:BRBR) P/E

When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 43.1x 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.

BellRing Brands 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.

Check out our latest analysis for BellRing Brands

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

Is There Enough Growth For BellRing Brands?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 41% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 112% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 21% per annum over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 12% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why BellRing Brands 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 Key Takeaway

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 BellRing Brands maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. 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.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for BellRing Brands you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

If you're unsure about the strength of BellRing Brands' 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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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.