Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Equity [Text Block]

8. STOCKHOLDER’ EQUITY

Cash Dividend Program

The Company has a dividend program approved by the Board of Directors, pursuant to which the Company intends to pay quarterly cash dividends on its common stock. Based on the Company’s historical practice, stockholders of record as of the last business day of the quarter are entitled to receive the quarterly cash dividends when and if declared by the Board of Directors, which are payable to the stockholders in the following month. The Board of Directors declared the following cash dividends (in thousands, except per share amounts): 

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023		2022		2021
Dividend declared per share	$	4.00	$	3.00	$	2.40
Total amount	$	190,642	$	140,337	$	110,206

As of  December 31, 2023 and 2022, accrued dividends totaled $47.9 million and $35.3 million, respectively.

The declaration of any future cash dividends is at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions, and other factors that the Board of Directors  may deem relevant, as well as a determination that cash dividends are in the best interests of the Company’s stockholders.

The Company anticipates that cash used for future dividend payments will come from its domestic cash, cash generated from ongoing U.S. operations, and cash repatriated from its Bermuda subsidiary. The Company also anticipates that earnings from other foreign subsidiaries will continue to be indefinitely reinvested.

Cash Dividend Equivalent Rights

The Company’s RSUs contain rights to receive cash dividend equivalents, which entitle employees who hold RSUs to the same dividend value per share as holders of common stock. The dividend equivalents are accumulated and paid to the employees when the underlying RSUs vest. Dividend equivalents accumulated on the underlying RSUs are forfeited if the employees do not fulfill the requisite service requirement and, as a result, the awards do not vest. As of  December 31, 2023 and 2022, accrued dividend equivalents totaled $11.9 million and $13.8 million, respectively.

Stock Repurchase Program

In October 2023, the Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program authorizing the Company to repurchase up to $640.0 million in the aggregate of its common stock through October 29, 2026. Shares are retired upon repurchase. The Company repurchased approximately 7,000 shares of its common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $3.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. 

Stock repurchased under the program may be made through open market repurchases, privately negotiated transactions or other structures in accordance with applicable state and federal securities laws, at times and in amounts as management deems appropriate. The timing and the number of any repurchased common stock will be determined by the Company’s management based on its evaluation of market conditions, legal requirements, share price, and other factors. The repurchase program does not obligate the Company to purchase any particular number of shares and may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

The U.S. IRA requires a 1% excise tax of the value of certain stock repurchases in excess of stock issued for employee compensation made after December 31, 2022. This provision did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.