More than a few articles have attempted to pin down just how much of a stock's move can be explained by the moves of its overall industry. Whatever the real number may be, the underlying principle is logical -- if you and I are in the same business, we're going to have a lot of the same pressures and concerns. With that general notion in mind, I'm taking another look at Arkansas' Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ:OZRK).

While this small bank continues to grow at rates that many larger banks cannot, this was still one of the toughest quarters I've seen for this company. Net income rose about 15%, but net interest income grew slightly less than 6%; the company's net interest margin has come under pressure from both the flatter yield curve and a strategic decision to price deposits a little more aggressively.

In reality, net income growth wasn't really as good as 15% suggests. While reported non-interest income climbed 41%, stripping out investment gains would have left this metric flat for the year-on-year comparison. What's more, the company's decision to invest in new offices and additional staff led the efficiency ratio (a measure of non-interest expenses) to worsen a bit.

But I'm not seeing this as anything like the end of the line. On an end-of-period basis, loans still rose 21% and deposits climbed more than 24% without any pronounced increase in brokered deposits.

Let's also not forget that we're talking about a bank that, while having some loan offices in Texas and North Carolina, is still an Arkansas story. That suggests to me that there's ample opportunity to continue growing the business, if management can replicate its winning formula in new markets.

Even if this is an above-average growth story, it's still an expensive banking stock. I don't expect Bank of the Ozarks to trade like U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) or TCF Financial (NYSE:TCB), but I'm also not going to pay more than I would have to for a bank like Oregon's fast-growing Umpqua Holdings (NASDAQ:UMPQ), either. Let the valuation come down a bit, though, and I'll happily change my tune.

For more Foolish financial thoughts on banks:

U.S. Bancorp is a Motley Fool Income Investor recommendation.

Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).