14.	ACCOUNTING FOR STOCK BASED COMPENSATION

The Company maintains the Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. 2001 Stock Option Plan for Outside Directors, Officers and Employees, the 2004 Stock Incentive Plan and the 2013 Equity and Incentive Plan ("2013 Equity Plan") (collectively, the "Stock Plans"), which are discussed more fully in Note 21 to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and which are subject to the accounting requirements of ASC 505-50 and ASC 718.

Stock Option Awards

The following table presents a summary of activity related to stock options granted under the Stock Plans, and changes during the period then ended:

	Number of Options		Weighted-Average Exercise Price		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Years		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding at January 1, 2019		72,395	$	13.58
Options granted		—		—
Options expired		—		—
Options exercised		—		—
Options outstanding at March 31, 2019		72,395	$	13.58		1.7	$	373
Options vested and exercisable at March 31, 2019		72,395	$	13.58		1.7	$	373

Information related to stock options during each period is as follows:

	For the Three MonthsEnded March 31,
	2019		2018
Cash received for option exercise cost	$	—	$	290
Income tax benefit recognized on stock option exercises		—		4
Intrinsic value of options exercised		—		97

Restricted Stock Awards

The Company has made restricted stock award grants to outside Directors and certain officers under the Stock Plans. Typically, awards to outside Directors fully vest on the first anniversary of the grant date, while awards to officers may vest in equal annual installments over a four-year period or at the end of the pre-determined requisite period. All awards were made at the fair value of Common Stock on the grant date. Compensation expense on all restricted stock awards are based upon the fair value of the shares on the respective dates of the grant.

The following table presents a summary of activity related to the RSAs granted, and changes during the period then ended:

	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested allocated shares outstanding at January 1, 2019		148,235		$	19.48
Shares granted		11,584			17.24
Shares vested		(4,329	)		20.50
Shares forfeited		(3,743	)		19.45
Unvested allocated shares at March 31, 2019		151,747		$	19.28

Information related to restricted stock awards during each period is as follows:

	At or for the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019			2018
Compensation expense recognized	$	289		$	304
Income tax benefit (expense) recognized on vesting of RSA		(3	)		(2	)
Weighted average remaining years for which compensation expense is to be recognized		2.4			2.7

Performance Based Equity Awards

The Company established the LTIP, a long term incentive award program for certain officers, which meets the criteria for equity-based accounting. For each award, threshold (50% of target), target (100% of target) and maximum (150% of target) opportunities are eligible to be earned over a three-year performance period based on the Company's relative performance on certain goals that were established at the onset of the performance period and cannot be altered subsequently. Shares of Common Stock are issued on the grant date and held as unvested stock awards until the end of the performance period. They are issued at the maximum opportunity in order to ensure that an adequate number of shares are allocated for shares expected to vest at the end of the performance period.

The following table presents a summary of activity related to performance based equity awards, and changes during the period then ended:

	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Maximum aggregate share payout at January 1, 2019		120,880		$	18.90
Shares granted		138,562			19.18
Shares vested		(2,276	)		17.35
Shares forfeited		(2,574	)		17.35
Maximum aggregate share payout at March 31, 2019		254,592		$	19.08
Minimum aggregate share payout		—			—
Expected aggregate share payout		112,388		$	19.28

Compensation expense recorded for performance based equity awards was $(75) and $84 for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2018, respectively.

Sales Incentive Awards

The Company established the SIP, a sales incentive award program for certain officers, which meets the criteria for equity-based accounting. For each quarter an individual can earn their shares based on their sales performance in that quarter. The shares then vest one year from the quarter in which they are earned. Shares of Common Stock are issued on the grant date and held as unvested stock awards until the end of the performance period. They are issued at the maximum opportunity in order to ensure that an adequate number of shares are allocated for shares expected to vest at the end of the performance period.

The following table presents a summary of activity related to performance based equity awards, and changes during the period then ended:

	Number of Shares			Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Maximum aggregate share payout at January 1, 2019		8,151		$	18.40
Shares granted		—			—
Shares vested		—			—
Shares forfeited		(5,500	)		18.40
Maximum aggregate share payout at March 31, 2019		2,651		$	18.40
Minimum aggregate share payout		—			—
Expected aggregate share payout		2,651		$	18.40

Compensation expense recorded for sales incentive based equity awards was $70 for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019. No compensation expense was recognized for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018.