EARNINGS PER SHARE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

NOTE 12—EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following weighted average shares and share equivalents are used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share for years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014:


	For the year ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2016	2015	2014
Weighted average number of shares outstanding used to calculate basic earnings per share	29,432	29,754	32,210

Dilutive securities
Unvested restricted shares and restricted share units	1,403	952	—
Stock options	337	243	414
Weighted average number of shares and share equivalents outstanding used to calculate diluted earnings per share	31,172	30,949	32,624

The assumed proceeds used for calculating the dilutive impact of restricted stock awards under the treasury method includes the unrecognized compensation costs associated with the awards. The following table presents any average outstanding options to purchase shares of common stock and average restricted shares that were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because the effect would have been anti-dilutive (the exercise price of the options or the grant date market price of the restricted shares was greater than the average market price of the Company’s shares during the periods presented).


	For the year ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2016	2015	2014
Average options	181	—	611
Average restricted shares	181	14	—

Under the 2015 Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the Company’s approval, grantees have the option of electing to satisfy tax withholding obligations at the time of vesting or exercise by allowing the Company to withhold and purchase the shares of stock otherwise issuable to the grantee. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, the Company repurchased and retired 0.2 million, 0.2 million, and 0.1 million restricted shares at a weighted average market price of $22.74, $20.11, and $15.53, upon grantee vesting, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2014, the Company repurchased 2.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock from one of its largest stockholders at the time at a price of $14.50 per share, which was below the quoted price at the time, and immediately retired the shares, reducing stockholders’ equity by approximately $35.5 million.

In the first quarter of 2015, the Company repurchased 3.0 million shares of its common stock from one of its largest stockholders at the time at a price of $15.60 per share, which was below the quoted price at the time, and immediately retired the shares, reducing stockholders’ equity by $46.8 million.

During the first quarter of 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to $75.0 million of its common stock over a 12-month period. During 2016, the Company repurchased 0.4 million shares of its common stock under the share repurchase program at a weighted average price of $23.11 per share and immediately retired the shares, reducing stockholders’ equity by $9.2 million. The Company had $65.8 million of authorized share repurchase capacity remaining as of December 31, 2016. In February 2017, our Board for Directors approved a new stock repurchase program that permits the repurchase of up to $75.0 million of shares of our common stock over a 12-month period beginning on February 10, 2017.