OUTSTANDING SHARES AND EARNINGS PER SHARE

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

OUTSTANDING SHARES AND EARNINGS PER SHARE [Abstract]

OUTSTANDING SHARES AND EARNINGS PER SHARE

10.  OUTSTANDING SHARES AND EARNINGS PER SHARE

On January 25, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Company declared a 5% stock dividend payable on March 25, 2024 to shareholders of record as of February 29, 2024. All income per share amounts have been adjusted to give retroactive effect to stock dividends.

Earnings Per Share (EPS)

Basic EPS includes no dilution and is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the respective period. Diluted EPS is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of shares outstanding plus dilutive shares for the quarter. Diluted shares include all common stock equivalents (“in-the-money” stock options, unvested restricted stock, stock units, warrants and rights, convertible bonds and preferred stock), which reflects the potential dilution of securities that could share in the earnings of the Company.

The following table presents a reconciliation of basic and diluted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 (dollars in thousands except per share amounts):

	Three months ended March 31,
	2024		2023
Basic earnings per share:
Net income	$	4,276	$	5,489
Weighted average common shares outstanding		15,232,761		15,149,823
Basic EPS	$	0.28	$	0.36
Diluted earnings per share:
Net income	$	4,276	$	5,489
Weighted average common shares outstanding		15,232,761		15,149,823
Effect of dilutive shares		160,025		141,923
Adjusted weighted average common shares outstanding		15,392,786		15,291,746
Diluted EPS	$	0.28	$	0.36

Stock options which were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they would have had an anti-dilutive effect amounted to 538,671 shares and 538,711 shares for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, respectively. Restricted stock which were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they would have had an anti-dilutive effect amounted to 7,803 shares and 32,743 shares for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, respectively.