Note 8 - Capital Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Notes to Financial Statements

Equity [Text Block]

NOTE 8. CAPITAL STOCK

Common Stock Issuances

During 2024 and 2023, 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)
2024
At the Market Offering Program(3)	First Quarter	$	8.80		1,490,075	$	13,109
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Second Quarter		8.40		11,990,383		100,698
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Third Quarter		8.25		13,314,022		109,891
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Fourth Quarter		7.86		4,533,067		35,630
					31,327,547	$	259,328
2023
At the Market Offering Program(3)	First Quarter	$	11.77		2,690,000	$	31,657
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Second Quarter		9.95		4,757,953		47,355
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Third Quarter		9.54		8,432,086		80,426
At the Market Offering Program(3)	Fourth Quarter		-		-		-
					15,880,039	$	159,438

(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, 2024, the Company had entered into twelve equity distribution agreements, eleven of which have either been terminated because all shares were sold or were replaced with a subsequent agreement.

Increase in Authorized Shares

On February 14, 2025, the Company amended its charter, increasing the number of shares authorized to 220,000,000, consisting of 200,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, and 20,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, $0.01 value per share. The aggregate par value of all authorized shares of stock having par value is $2,200,000.

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 1,061,315 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, 2024, the Company repurchased a total of 5,144,602 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $77.5 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $15.07 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company repurchased a total of 396,241 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $3.3 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $8.30 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased a total of 1,072,789 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $9.4 million, including commissions and fees, for a weighted average price of $8.79 per share. The remaining authorization under the stock repurchase program as of  February 21, 2025 was 3,832,361 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		1.800		81,127
2024		1.440		96,309
2025 YTD(1)		0.240		22,097
Totals	$	68.130	$	727,003

(1) On January 8, 2025, the Company declared a dividend of $0.12 per share to be paid on February 27, 2025. On February 12, 2025, the Company declared a dividend of $0.12 per share to be paid on March 28, 2025. 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, 2024.