Note 8 - Accounting for Stock-based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Notes to Financial Statements

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]

Note 8. Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $4.0 million and $3.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and March 31, 2014, respectively. Unrecognized compensation expense of $21.0 million as of March 31, 2015, related to unvested stock options and unsettled restricted stock units (“RSUs”), is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.8 years. The unrecognized compensation expense related to cash-settled RSUs (“CSRSUs”) totaled approximately $21.1 million at March 31, 2015 and is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 3.3 years. During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company granted approximately 0.2 million shares in the form of stock-settled RSUs, and granted approximately 0.1 million shares in the form of CSRSUs to its employees.

In the first quarter of 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a performance-based share program (the “Program”) that provides for the issuance of performance shares to its senior management. Under the Program, the number of performance shares that the participant will receive depends on the Company’s achievement of two performance goals during two performance periods. The performance goals under the Program are based on (i) the Company’s compounded annual growth rate in earnings per share (“EPS”) during a performance period from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2016, and (ii) the Company’s cumulative total shareholder return (“rTSR”) relative to its peer group during a performance period from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017. The performance shares will only be eligible to vest following the expiration of the three-year performance period ending on December 31, 2017. Actual shares vested will be subject to both continued employment by the Company (barring certain exceptions) and actual financial measures achieved. The actual number of shares of common stock that will be issued to each participant at the end of the applicable performance period will be determined by multiplying the award by the product of two percentages, one based on the Company’s EPS performance and a second one based on the Company’s rTSR performance, subject to a minimum and maximum performance level. The Company recognizes expense for these awards on a straight-line basis over the performance period based on the estimated fair value of the awards and the estimated number of shares expected to vest. The initial estimate for shares expected to vest is based on target performance and adjusted as appropriate throughout the performance period. The fair value of the awards is estimated on the grant date using a Monte Carlo simulation model due to the relative total shareholder return component.

During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company granted approximately 0.1 million performance awards with a grant-date fair value of $44.21 per share. Compensation expense recognized related to performance awards for the three months ended March 31, 2015 was less than $0.1 million. Unrecognized compensation expense related to performance awards of $2.6 million as of March 31, 2015 is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.8 years.

As of March 31, 2015, the Company had approximately 1.1 million shares available for grant under its 2010 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended. CSRSUs have no impact on the shares available for grant under the 2010 Omnibus Incentive Plan, and have no impact on the calculated shares used in EPS calculations.