Stock Options and Awards

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Stock options and awards

Note 11 – Stock Options and Awards:

On May 29, 2015, the Company's shareholders approved the Ocean Bio-Chem, Inc. 2015 Equity Compensation Plan (the "Plan"). The Plan provides for grants of several types of awards at the discretion of the Equity Grant Committee of the Company's Board of Directors, including stock options, stock units, stock awards, stock appreciation rights and other stock-based awards. The Plan authorizes the issuance of 630,000 shares of Company common stock, subject to anti-dilution adjustments upon the occurrence of certain events affecting the common stock. During 2019 and 2018, the Company granted stock awards under the Plan aggregating 83,000 and 81,400 shares of common stock, respectively, to officers, key employees, and directors. Following the withholding of an aggregate of 6,310 and 6,299 shares of common stock, respectively, in connection with a tax withholding feature of the Plan, 76,690 and 75,101 shares were issued to the award recipients, during 2019 and 2018, respectively. The shares vested immediately upon issuance and were fully expensed in the period in which they were awarded. Compensation expense related to the stock awards was $275,540 and $330,823 in 2019 and 2018, respectively. The value of the shares the Company withheld for taxes related to the stock awards was $20,949 and $25,794 in 2019 and 2018, respectively. At December 31, 2019, 179,000 shares remained available for future issuance under the Plan.  As a result of the adoption of the Plan, no further stock awards will be made under the Company's equity compensation plans previously approved by its shareholders (the "Prior Plans").

Prior to the May 29, 2015 effective date of the Plan, stock options were granted under the Prior Plans. Only non-qualified options granted under the Prior Plans were outstanding on December 31, 2019. Outstanding non-qualified options were granted to outside directors, have a 10-year term from the date of grant and are immediately exercisable. The last tranche of non-qualified options previously granted terminate on April 25, 2020. There was no compensation expense attributable to stock options recognized during 2019 and 2018, and at December 31, 2019 and 2018, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to share based compensation arrangements

During 2019, stock options to purchase an aggregate of 30,000 shares of common stock were exercised. The Company received a total of $13,799, withheld 2,072 shares in connection with the net exercise feature of the stock options and issued an aggregate of 27,928 shares to the option holders who exercised their options.

During 2018, a former director exercised a stock option to purchase 10,000 shares of common stock. The Company withheld 1,490 shares in connection with the net exercise of the stock option by the former director and issued 8,510 shares to the former director.

In 2010, the Company granted, under its 2008 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan, stock options to purchase 20,000 shares of its common stock at an exercise price per share of $2.07 that remained outstanding at December 31, 2019. The stock options expire on April 25, 2020.

The following table provides information relating to stock option transactions during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

	2019					2018
				Weighted					Weighted
				Average					Average
				Exercise					Exercise
	Shares			Price		Shares			Price
Options outstanding beginning of the year		50,000		$	1.24		60,000		$	1.15
Options exercised		(30,000	)		0.69		(10,000	)		0.69
Total		20,000		$	2.07		50,000		$	1.24