Note 7 - Capital Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 7. CAPITAL STOCK

Reverse Stock Split

On August 30, 2022, the Company effected a 1-for-5 reverse stock split of its common stock and proportionately decreased the number of authorized shares of common stock.  All share, per share, DSU and PU information has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the reverse split.  The shares of common stock retain a par value of $0.01 per share.

Common Stock Issuances

During 2022 and 2021, the Company completed the following public offerings of shares of its common stock.

($ in thousands, except per share amounts)
		Weighted
		Average
		Price
		Received				Net
Type of Offering	Period	Per Share(1)		Shares		Proceeds(2)
2022
At the Market Offering Program(3)	First Quarter	$	-		-	$	-
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Second Quarter		-		-		-
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Third Quarter		-		-		-
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Fourth Quarter		10.45		3,885,048		40,580
					3,885,048	$	40,580
2021
At the Market Offering Program(3)	First Quarter	$	25.50		61,610	$	1,572
Follow-on Offerings	First Quarter		26.55		3,588,000		95,336
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Second Quarter		27.00		4,617,418		124,746
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Third Quarter		24.70		7,163,668		177,007
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Fourth Quarter		24.34		4,734,940		115,398
					20,165,635	$	514,059

(1) Weighted average price received per share is after deducting the underwriters’ discount, if applicable, and other offering costs.

(2) Net proceeds are net of the underwriters’ discount, if applicable, and other offering costs.

(3) As of December 31, 2022, the Company had entered into ten equity distribution agreements, nine of which have either been terminated because all shares were sold or were replaced with a subsequent agreement.

Stock Repurchase Program

On July 29, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. On February 8, 2018, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the stock repurchase program for up to an additional 904,564 shares of the Company's common stock. Coupled with the 156,751 shares remaining from the original 400,000 share authorization, the increased authorization brought the total authorization to 1,061,316 shares, representing 10% of the then outstanding share count.

On December 9, 2021, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares of the Company’s common stock available in the stock repurchase program for up to an additional 3,372,399 shares, bringing the remaining authorization under the stock repurchase program to 3,539,861 shares, representing approximately 10% of the Company’s then outstanding shares of common stock.

On October 12, 2022, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares of the Company’s common stock available in the stock repurchase program for up to an additional 4,300,000 shares, bringing the remaining authorization under the stock repurchase program to 6,183,601 shares, representing approximately 18% of the Company’s then outstanding shares of common stock.

As part of the stock repurchase program, shares may be purchased in open market transactions, block purchases, through privately negotiated transactions, or pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Open market repurchases will be made in accordance with Exchange Act Rule 10b-18, which sets certain restrictions on the method, timing, price and volume of open market stock repurchases. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the Company in its discretion and will be subject to economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The authorization does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock and the program may be suspended or discontinued at the Company’s discretion without prior notice. The stock repurchase program has no termination date.

From the inception of the stock repurchase program through December 31, 2022, the Company repurchased a total of 3,675,572 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $64.8 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $17.63 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company repurchased a total of 2,538,470 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $24.5 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $9.63 per share. No shares were repurchased during the year ended December 31, 2021. Subsequent to  December 31, 2022, and through  March 3, 2023, the Company repurchased a total of 373,041 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $4.0 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $10.62 per share. The remaining authorization under the stock repurchase program as of  March 3, 2023 was 4,928,350 shares.

Cash Dividends

The table below presents the cash dividends declared on the Company’s common stock.

(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Year	Per Share Amount		Total
2013	$	6.975	$	4,662
2014		10.800		22,643
2015		9.600		38,748
2016		8.400		41,388
2017		8.400		70,717
2018		5.350		55,814
2019		4.800		54,421
2020		3.950		53,570
2021		3.900		97,601
2022		2.475		87,906
2023 YTD(1)		0.320		12,540
Totals	$	64.970	$	540,010

(1) On January 11, 2023, the Company declared a dividend of $0.16 per share that was paid on February 24, 2023. On February 15, 2023, the Company declared a dividend of $0.16 per share to be paid on March 29, 2023. The effect of these dividends are included in the table above, but are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements as of December 31, 2022.