EQUITY

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

EQUITY

EQUITY

9. EQUITY

Dividends

On February 18, 2019, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of approximately $0.38738 per share, paid on May 1, 2019 to stockholders of record on April 15, 2019.  On April 25, 2019, we announced the elimination of the payment of quarterly dividends on our stock beginning in the second quarter of 2019.  Future dividend payments, if any, are at the discretion of our Board of Directors.  Changes in our dividend program will depend on our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, debt covenant compliance, expected cash needs and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors.  

Share-Based Compensation

Our Board of Directors may grant share-based awards from our shareholder approved Amended and Restated Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).  The Plan permits the issuance of awards in the form of stock options, stock appreciation rights, stock grants, stock unit grants and other equity-based awards to eligible directors and employees at the discretion of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.  Approximately 4,650,000 shares of our common stock are authorized for issuance under the Plan, provided that no more than 300,000 shares may be granted in the form of stock options or stock appreciation rights to any eligible employee or director in any calendar year.  Unless terminated sooner, the Plan will continue in effect until April 30, 2028.

The following table summarizes total compensation costs recognized for share-based payments during the quarters ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:

	Quarter Ended
	March 31,
(In thousands)	2020		2019
Restricted stock	$	848	$	927
Performance shares		42		571
Total	$	890	$	1,498

Share-based compensation expense is included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.

As of March 31, 2020, total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested Restricted Stock Awards (“RSAs”) and Performance Share Awards (“PSAs”) was $17.7 million and will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.8 years.

The following table summarizes the RSA and PSA activity for the quarter ended March 31, 2020:

	RSAs			PSAs
		Weighted			Weighted
		Average Grant			Average Grant
	Shares	Date Fair Value		Shares	Date Fair Value
Non-vested shares outstanding - December 31, 2019	532,445	$	11.58	275,995	$	13.29
Shares granted	847,809	$	6.31	240,669	$	9.86
Shares forfeited, cancelled or retired	(4,579)	$	11.29	(3,162)	$	12.62
Non-vested shares outstanding - March 31, 2020	1,375,675	$	8.21	513,502	$	11.40

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The following table summarizes the changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax, by component for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020:

	Pension and
	Post-Retirement		Derivative
(In thousands)	Obligations		Instruments		Total
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	(64,316)	$	(16,552)	$	(80,868)
Other comprehensive loss before reclassifications		—		(11,944)		(11,944)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss		336		1,608		1,944
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)		336		(10,336)		(10,000)
Balance at March 31, 2020	$	(63,980)	$	(26,888)	$	(90,868)

The following table summarizes reclassifications from accumulated other comprehensive loss for the quarters ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:

	Quarter Ended March 31,				Affected Line Item in the
(In thousands)	2020		2019		Statement of Income
Amortization of pension and post-retirement items:
Prior service cost	$	(442)	$	(798)	(a)
Actuarial loss		(12)		(595)	(a)
		(454)		(1,393)	Total before tax
		118		367	Tax benefit
	$	(336)	$	(1,026)	Net of tax
Gain (Loss) on cash flow hedges:
Interest rate derivatives	$	(2,175)	$	280	Interest expense
		567		(73)	Tax benefit (expense)
	$	(1,608)	$	207	Net of tax

(a) These items are included in the components of net periodic benefit cost for our pension and other post-retirement benefit plans. See Note 10 for further discussion regarding our pension and other post-retirement benefit plans.