Hart Capital Management Inc., of Spokane, says the composite value of the nine Inland Northwest-based publicly traded companies decreased to $12.1 billion in the recently completed second quarter of 2018.

The decline marks a $539.4 million, or 4.3 percent, decrease compared with the first-quarter 2018 composite value of $12.6 billion.

Hart Capital tracks the performance of publicly traded companies in the region with its composite and its Inland Northwest Index, which is compiled with a methodology similar to the S&P 500.

The nine publicly traded companies currently based here are Avista Corp., Clearwater Paper Corp., Hecla Mining Co., Idaho Independent Bank, Itron Inc., Key Tronic Corp., Northwest Bancorporation Inc., PotlatchDeltic Corp., and WTB Financial Corp.

During the second quarter, according to the report, five of the nine tracked companies experienced an increase in market capitalization compared with values at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Spokane-based utility Avista led the group with a $142 million, or 4 percent, increase in market capitalization.

Other top performers were WTB Financial, the Spokane-based parent of Washington Trust Bank, with an $84 million increase, and Northwest Bancorp., the Spokane-based parent of Inland Northwest Bank, with an increase of $61.6 million.

Idaho Independent Bank followed with a $23.5 million increase in market capitalization, and Key Tronic rounded out the top five with an increase of $6.7 million.

The largest decline in market capitalization was experienced by Itron Inc., which had a $445.1 million drop in value to $2.35 billion in the second quarter from $2.8 billion in the first quarter. The company’s price fell considerably after it reported a quarterly loss, which management attributed to one-time acquisition and restructuring costs, says Hart Capital. 

Clearwater Paper also experienced a market cap decrease of $263.4 million to just $380 million in the second quarter from $643 million, according to the Hart Capital report.

For the six-month period ending June 30, the composite rose $635.1 million, or 5.5 percent. According to the report, the increase was almost entirely due to the completion of the merger between Potlatch and Deltic Timber—now renamed PotlatchDeltic Corp.—on Feb. 20.

Avista led the composite over the 12 months ending June 30, accounting for $839.7 million to the $1.15 billion increase in the composite over that period.

In Hart Capital’s Inland Northwest Index, Northwest Bancorp. was the top performer, gaining 61.4 percent for the three-month period ended June 30. 

The company announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Billings, Mont.-based First Interstate BancSystem Inc. on April 25, in an all-stock transaction valued at $160.9 million, or $21.03 per share. The companies expect the transaction to close late in the third quarter or early fourth quarter.

Idaho Independent Bank and Key Tronic followed with second-quarter increases in stock prices of 15.1 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.

Hart Capital’s report indicated banks in particular have been performing well nationwide, as loan losses remain historically low and yield spreads remain buoyant.

Clearwater Paper was the worst second-quarter performer in the index, seeing its stock price decline 40.9 percent.

Year to date, the Hart Capital Management Composite has risen $635.1 million, or 5.53 percent, to $12.1 billion from $11.5 billion.

The list of publicly traded companies is expected to shrink to seven at some point this year, with the loss of Northwest Bancorp. and Avista, which announced last year it would be acquired by Hydro One, a Canadian utility company based in Ontario.