6. Stock Based Plans

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

Notes

6. Stock Based Plans

6. STOCK BASED PLANS

Phantom Stock Plan

Plan Description.  On April 1, 2006, the Company adopted the Omega Flex, Inc. 2006 Phantom Stock Plan (the “Plan”).  The Plan authorizes the grant of up to 1 million units of phantom stock to employees, officers or directors of the Company and of any of its subsidiaries.  The phantom stock units ("Units") each represent a contractual right to payment of compensation in the future based on the market value of the Company’s common stock.  The Units are not shares of the Company’s common stock, and a recipient of the Units does not receive any of the following:

·                     ownership interest in the Company

·                     shareholder voting rights

·                     other incidents of ownership to the Company’s common stock

The Units are granted to participants upon the recommendation of the Company’s CEO, and the approval of the Compensation Committee.  Each of the Units that are granted to a participant will be initially valued by the Compensation Committee, at an amount equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date, but are recorded at fair value using the Black-Sholes method as described below.  The Units follow a vesting schedule, with a maximum vesting of 3 years after the grant date.  Upon vesting, the Units represent a contractual right of payment for the value of the Unit.  The Units will be paid on their maturity date, one year after all of the Units granted in a particular award have fully vested, unless an acceptable event occurs under the terms of the Plan prior to one year, which would allow for earlier payment.  The amount to be paid to the participant on the maturity date is dependent on the type of Unit granted to the participant.

The Units may be Full Value, in which the value of each Unit at the maturity date, will equal the closing price of the Company’s common stock as of the maturity date; or Appreciation Only, in which the value of each Unit at the maturity date will be equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock at the maturity date minus the closing price of the Company’s common stock at the grant date.

On December 9, 2009, the Board of Directors authorized an amendment to the Plan to pay an amount equal to the value of any cash or stock dividend declared by the Company on its common stock to be accrued to the phantom stock units outstanding as of the record date of the common stock dividend.  The dividend equivalent will be paid at the same time the underlying phantom stock units are paid to the participant.

In certain circumstances, the Units may be immediately vested upon the participant’s death or disability.  All Units granted to a participant are forfeited if the participant is terminated from his relationship with the Company or its subsidiary for “cause,” which is defined under the Plan.  If a participant’s employment or relationship with the Company is terminated for reasons other than for “cause,” then any vested Units will be paid to the participant upon termination.  However, Units granted to certain “specified employees” as defined in Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code will be paid approximately 181 days after termination.

Grants of Phantom Stock Units.  As of December 31, 2014, the Company had 19,156 unvested units outstanding, all of which were granted at Full Value.  On February 16, 2015, the Company granted an additional 10,460 Full Value Units with a fair value of $28.90 per unit on grant date, using historical volatility. In March 2015, the Company paid $257,000 for the 8,100 fully vested and matured units that were granted on March 3, 2011, including their respective earned dividend values.  As of June 30, 2015, the Company had 20,335 unvested units outstanding.

 The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model as its method for determining fair value of the Units.  The Company uses the straight-line method of attributing the value of the stock-based compensation expense relating to the Units.  The compensation expense (including adjustment of the liability to its fair value) from the Units is recognized over the vesting period of each grant or award.

The FASB ASC Topic 718, Stock Compensation, requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates in order to derive the Company’s best estimate of awards ultimately to vest.

Forfeitures represent only the unvested portion of a surrendered Unit and are typically estimated based on historical experience.  Based on an analysis of the Company’s historical data, which has limited experience related to any stock-based plan forfeitures, the Company applied a 0% forfeiture rate to Plan Units outstanding in determining its Plan Unit compensation expense as of June 30, 2015.

The total Phantom Stock related liability as of June 30, 2015 was $807,000 of which $341,000 is included in Other Liabilities, as it is expected to be paid in February 2016, and the balance of $466,000 is included in Other Long Term Liabilities.  At December 31, 2014, the total Phantom Stock liability was $952,000, with $321,000 in Other Liabilities, and $631,000 included in Other Long Term Liabilities.

In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, Stock Compensation, the Company recorded compensation expense of approximately $112,000 and $97,000 related to the Phantom Stock Plan for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The following table summarizes information about the Company’s nonvested phantom stock Units at June 30, 2015:

	Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Number of Phantom Stock Unit Awards:
Nonvested at December 31, 2014	19,156	$15.67
Granted	10,460	$28.90
Vested	(9,281)	$15.09
Forfeited	---	---
Canceled	---	---
Nonvested at June 30, 2015	20,335	$22.74
Phantom Stock Unit Awards Expected to Vest	20,335	$22.74

The total unrecognized compensation costs calculated at June 30, 2015 are $613,000 which will be recognized through March of 2018.  The Company will recognize the related expense over the weighted average period of 1.7 years.