When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 17x, you may consider Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 26.7x 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.

Recent times have been pleasing for Materion as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. 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.

How Is Materion's Growth Trending?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 11% gain to the company's bottom line. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 510% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 22% as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 11% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why Materion 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 Materion's P/E

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Materion 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.

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

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Materion, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.