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Paychex, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PAYX) Business Is Trailing The Market But Its Shares Aren't

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 24.3x Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 18x and even P/E's lower than 10x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Paychex has been doing quite well of late. 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.

View our latest analysis for Paychex

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

Is There Enough Growth For Paychex?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 6.3% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 33% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 1.6% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 13% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it concerning that Paychex is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Final Word

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.

Our examination of Paychex's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Paychex has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Paychex. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20x (but have proven they can grow earnings).

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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