Nine of 20 Iowa-based companies posted stock price gains for the month of January. Eleven companies posted losses. 

While we normally look at the index a month at a time, it’s important to note that the volatility in February has left the Iowa Index up 12% year-to-date as of this morning. 

The top three Iowa stocks that posted gains in January were Renewable Energy Group Inc., 57.46%, Lee Enterprises Inc., 15.93% and Winnebago Industries Inc., 13.85%. Winnebago also has the largest year-over-year gain at 91.47%.

The three companies that posted the biggest losses in January were Meredith Corp. at loss of 21.34%, KemPharm Inc. at 19.57% and Heartland Express Inc. at 16.26%. KemPharm had the largest year-over-year loss at 85.82%.

The Iowa Index, an unweighted average price of 20 Iowa-based public companies, increased 1.62% from December and was up 3.63% on a year-over-year basis. 

By comparison, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 4.38% during January and increased 13.03% on a year-over-year basis. The Nasdaq composite gained 10.56% during January and increased 25.67% from a year ago. 

The Iowa-based companies that make up the Iowa Index are in bold in this list of companies with sizable operations in the state.

See the full Iowa Index