Hart Capital Management Inc., a Spokane-based investment firm, says the stock value of 15 publicly traded Inland Northwest companies as measured in an overall index performed well last year compared with the Standard & Poor's 500.

For its Inland Northwest Index, Hart Capital uses a methodology similar to that of the Standard & Poor's 500 to track the companies' stock value. The investment company says the regional index rose 14.2 percent for last year, compared with the S&P 500's 13.4 percent rise.

The top performing stocks in the Hart Capital Index were Key Tronic Corp., Potlatch Corp., and Sterling Financial Corp., with respective increases of 118.3 percent, 25.8 percent, and 25 percent. Avista Corp. came in at the lowest point in the Index for year-end, with its stock down 6.4 percent.

For just the fourth-quarter ending Dec. 31, the stocks of Coldwater Creek Inc. and Red Lion Hotels Corp. jumped to the lead with percentage gains of almost 45 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Hart Capital also compiles its Inland Northwest Composite to track the aggregate market value of the same companies. Market value, or capitalization, is share price multiplied by the number of outstanding shares.

Potlatch Corp., Itron Inc., and Sterling Financial Corp. had the largest market value increases at $330 million, $289 million, and $263 million, respectively, for the year. The overall Inland Northwest composite increased by more than $1.3 billion for the year. It ended the fourth quarter at a total valuation of nearly $11.8 billion.

For the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, however, the composite here fell $658 billion, or by 5 percent, largely due to value declines for Hecla Mining Co. and Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp.