Hart Capital Management Inc. says the composite value of the 10 publicly traded companies in the Inland Northwest rose by $1 billion to $8.2 billion for the first quarter of 2016, compared with the previous quarter.

It’s the second straight quarter the companies’ composite value has risen. Ambassadors Group Inc. closed at the end of 2015, reducing the region’s publicly traded companies from 11 to 10. The composite value of those 11 companies experienced declines during the first three quarters of 2015.

For the three-month period ending March 31, the composite rose $1.06 billion, or almost 15 percent.

In the latest three-month period, seven of the tracked companies experienced an increase in market capitalization.

Avista Corp., of Spokane, had a first-quarter market capitalization increase of $345 million. Hecla reported an increase of $338 million, and Liberty Lake-based Itron Inc. saw its market capitalization rise $210 million.

Three companies that experienced market capitalization declines: Idaho Independent Bank, of Coeur d’Alene; Inland Northwest Bank parent Northwest Bancorporation Inc., of Spokane; and Keytronic Corp., of Spokane Valley.

Keytronic saw its market capitalization fall $4.8 million, while Northwest Bancorporation and Idaho Independent Bank saw declines of $4.3 million and $4 million, respectively. 

At the end of the 2011 first quarter, Hart Capital recorded a record $13.6 billion composite for the 15 publicly traded companies then based in the area.

In a separate market analysis, the company’s Inland Northwest Index—a methodology similar to that of the Standard & Poor’s 500—rose by 12 percent, outperforming the S&P 500, which increased 0.8 percent over the same time period. 

During the first quarter, Hecla Mining Co., of Coeur d’Alene, led the index, returning 47 percent when its share price increased to $2.78 from $1.89.

“Hecla Mining Company’s strong performance was attributed to greater than expected production levels as well as strong price increases in gold and silver, which rose 16.2 percent and 11.5 percent in the quarter, respectively,” Hart Capital says in a written press release.

In addition to Ambassadors, four other publicly traded companies based here have been dropped from the list over the last several years due to closures or acquisitions. They include Coeur Mining Inc., Intermountain Community Bancorp, Sterling Financial Corp., and Coldwater Creek Inc.