EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock Awards

Stock awards, which include shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units and restricted performance units, are awarded from time to time to executive officers and certain key employees of the Company. Stock award compensation is recorded based on the award date fair value and charged to expense ratably through the requisite service period. The forfeiture of unvested restricted stock, restricted stock units and restricted performance units causes the reversal of all previous expense recorded as a reduction of current period expense.

A summary of stock award activity during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 is as follows:



	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2014				2013				2012
	Stock Awards		Weighted Average Award Date Fair Value		Stock Awards		Weighted Average Award Date Fair Value		Stock Awards		Weighted Average Award Date Fair Value
Outstanding, beginning of period	555,025		$	22.79	698,869		$	19.39	643,117		$	17.48
Restricted shares awarded	242,722		23.76		435,025		24.09		239,523		18.07
Restricted stock units awarded	395,352		21.75		112,401		25.11		222,379		18.11
Restricted shares distributed	(118,828	)	23.55		(274,784	)	19.04		(289,001	)	13.42
Restricted stock units distributed	(15,277	)	21.25		(13,761	)	18.87		(15,177	)	14.32
Restricted shares forfeited	(104,013	)	23.77		(236,388	)	23.10		(36,325	)	20.13
Restricted stock units forfeited	(187,441	)	24.48		(166,337	)	19.55		(65,647	)	18.18
Outstanding, end of period	767,540		$	21.93	555,025		$	22.79	698,869		$	19.39

Expense associated with stock awards was $3.6 million, $3.0 million, and $4.1 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Unrecognized pre-tax expense of $11.2 million related to stock awards is expected to be recognized over the weighted average remaining service period of 2.0 years for awards outstanding at December 31, 2014.

Deferred Stock Unit Awards

Deferred stock units generally are awarded to directors of the Company and represent the Company’s obligation to transfer one share of the Company’s common stock to the grantee at a future date and generally are fully vested on the date of grant. The expense related to the issuance of deferred stock units is recorded as of the date of the award.

The following table summarizes information about deferred stock unit activity during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012:



	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2014				2013				2012
	Deferred Stock Units		Weighted Average Award Date Fair Value		Deferred Stock Units		Weighted Average Award Date Fair Value		Deferred Stock Units		Weighted Average Award Date Fair Value
Outstanding, beginning of period	214,455		$	19.56	181,518		$	19.06	173,916		$	20.12
Awarded	38,810		22.89		39,966		22.33		41,734		17.78
Shares distributed	(31,794	)	19.70		(7,029	)	22.67		(34,132	)	22.90
Outstanding, end of period	221,471		$	20.10	214,455		$	19.56	181,518		$	19.06

Expense associated with awards of deferred stock units was $0.9 million, $0.9 million and $0.7 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Stock Options

Stock options on the Company’s common stock are awarded from time to time to executive officers and certain key employees of the Company. Stock options granted generally have a term of seven to ten years and an exercise price equal to the market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant.

A summary of stock option activity during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 is as follows:



	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2014				2013				2012
	Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at January 1	1,208,824		$	18.54	1,216,809		$	18.46	1,107,712		$	18.98
Granted	38,820		24.21		29,025		25.11		281,696		18.11
Exercised	(526,359	)	16.36		(29,511	)	20.14		(52,676	)	16.66
Canceled/Expired	(218,151	)	25.61		(7,499	)	24.58		(119,923	)	23.21
Outstanding at December 31	503,134		$	18.18	1,208,824		$	18.54	1,216,809		$	18.46

Exercisable at December 31	452,236		$	18.12	933,738		$	17.84	758,270		$	16.80

In 2014, 2013 and 2012, the Company recorded expense of $0.6 million, $1.7 million and $2.1 million, respectively, related to stock option grants. Unrecognized pre-tax expense of $0.1 million related to stock option grants is expected to be recognized over the weighted average remaining contractual term of 1.0 years for awards outstanding at December 31, 2014.

Financial data for stock option exercises are summarized in the following table (in thousands):



	Years Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Amount collected from stock option exercises	$	8,614	$	738	$	1,054
Total intrinsic value of stock option exercises	3,771		131		177
Tax benefit (expense) of stock option exercises recorded in additional paid-in-capital	6		55		66
Aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding stock options	1,231		5,383		5,708
Aggregate intrinsic value of exercisable stock options	1,209		4,695		4,601

The intrinsic value calculations are based on the Company’s closing stock price of $18.61, $21.89 and $22.19 on December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. At December 31, 2014, 2,048,741 and 123,853 shares of common stock were available for equity-based compensation awards pursuant to the 2013 Employee Plan and the 2011 Non-Employee Director Plan, respectively.

The Company uses a binomial option-pricing model for valuation purposes to reflect the features of stock options granted. The fair value of stock options awarded during 2014, 2013 and 2012 was estimated at the date of grant based on the assumptions presented in the table below. Volatility, expected term and dividend yield assumptions were based on the Company’s historical experience. The risk-free rate was based on a U.S. treasury note with a maturity similar to the option grant’s expected term.



	2014		2013		2012
	Range	Weighted Average	Range	Weighted Average	Range	Weighted Average
Grant-date fair value	$11.27	$11.27	12.92	$12.92	$8.14-$8.19	$8.19
Volatility	41.6%	41.6%	49.8%	49.8%	43.0%-45.2%	45.1%
Expected term (years)	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Dividend yield	—%	—%	—%	—%	—%	—%
Risk-free rate	2.3%	2.3%	1.1%	1.1%	1.0%-1.5%	1.5%