F5, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FFIV) Price Is Out Of Tune With Earnings

F5, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FFIV) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 25.1x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 16x and even P/E's below 9x are quite common. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

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With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, F5 has been doing relatively well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for F5

Keen to find out how analysts think F5's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like F5's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 32% gain to the company's bottom line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 85% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 11% each year as estimated by the twelve analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 10% per year, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's curious that F5's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. Although, additional gains will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the share price eventually.

The Key Takeaway

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that F5 currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is only in line with the wider market. When we see an average earnings outlook with market-like growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for F5 that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than F5. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).