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 is as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015				2014				2013
	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	767,540		$	21.93	555,025		$	22.79	698,869		$	19.39
Restricted shares awarded	—		—		242,722		23.76		435,025		24.09
Restricted stock units awarded	719,305		17.32		395,352		21.75		112,401		25.11
Restricted shares distributed	(90,607	)	19.25		(118,828	)	23.55		(274,784	)	19.04
Restricted stock units distributed	(12,646	)	19.62		(15,277	)	21.25		(13,761	)	18.87
Restricted shares forfeited	(54,045	)	23.40		(104,013	)	23.77		(236,388	)	23.10
Restricted stock units forfeited	(53,840	)	19.14		(187,441	)	24.48		(166,337	)	19.55
Outstanding, end of period	1,275,707		$	19.60	767,540		$	21.93	555,025		$	22.79

Expense associated with stock awards was $6.8 million, $3.0 million, and $4.1 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Unrecognized pre-tax expense of $11.8 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, 2015.

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:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015				2014				2013
	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	221,471		$	20.10	214,455		$	19.56	181,518		$	19.06
Awarded	53,527		18.56		38,810		22.89		39,966		22.33
Shares distributed	(27,779	)	18.76		(31,794	)	19.70		(7,029	)	22.67
Outstanding, end of period	247,219		$	19.92	221,471		$	20.10	214,455		$	19.56

Expense associated with awards of deferred stock units was $1.0 million, $0.9 million and $0.9 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, 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 is as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015				2014				2013
	Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at January 1	503,134		$	18.18	1,208,824		$	18.54	1,216,809		$	18.46
Granted	—		—		38,820		24.21		29,025		25.11
Exercised	(209,205	)	13.13		(526,359	)	16.36		(29,511	)	20.14
Canceled/Expired	(5,546	)	24.21		(218,151	)	25.61		(7,499	)	24.58
Outstanding at December 31	288,383		$	21.73	503,134		$	18.18	1,208,824		$	18.54

Exercisable at December 31	284,929		$	21.78	452,236		$	18.12	933,738		$	17.84

In 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded expense of $0.1 million, $0.6 million and $1.7 million, respectively, related to stock option grants. Unrecognized pre-tax expense related to stock option grants was immaterial at December 31, 2015 and will be fully recognized during 2016.

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
Amount collected from stock option exercises	$	2,748	$	8,614	$	738
Total intrinsic value of stock option exercises	1,108		3,771		131
Tax benefit of stock option exercises recorded in additional paid-in-capital	209		6		55
Aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding stock options	173		1,231		5,383
Aggregate intrinsic value of exercisable stock options	169		1,209		4,695

The intrinsic value calculations are based on the Company’s closing stock price of $19.31, $18.61 and $21.89 on December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. At December 31, 2015, 1,023,270 and 70,326 shares of common stock were available for equity-based compensation awards pursuant to the 2013 Employee Plan and the 2011 Director Plan, respectively.

The Company uses a binomial option-pricing model for valuation purposes to reflect the features of stock options granted. 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. There were no stock options granted during 2015. The fair value of stock options awarded during 2014 and 2013 was estimated at the date of grant based on the assumptions presented in the table below:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2014		2013
	Range	Weighted Average	Range	Weighted Average
Grant-date fair value	$11.27	$11.27	$12.92	$12.92
Volatility	41.6%	41.6%	49.8%	49.8%
Expected term (years)	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Dividend yield	—%	—%	—%	—%
Risk-free rate	2.3%	2.3%	1.1%	1.1%