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,
	2016				2015				2014
	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	1,275,707		$	19.60	767,540		$	21.93	555,025		$	22.79
Restricted shares awarded	—		—		—		—		242,722		23.76
Restricted stock units awarded	335,026		18.43		422,141		17.37		65,117		23.80
Performance stock units awarded	245,586		18.35		297,164		17.24		330,235		21.34
Restricted shares distributed	(162,554	)	23.49		(90,607	)	19.25		(118,828	)	23.55
Restricted stock units distributed	(23,739	)	20.73		(12,646	)	19.62		(15,277	)	21.25
Performance stock units distributed	—		—		—		—		—		—
Restricted shares forfeited	(22,045	)	23.34		(54,045	)	23.40		(104,013	)	23.77
Restricted stock units forfeited	(71,992	)	17.60		(27,360	)	18.79		(6,925	)	22.93
Performance stock units forfeited	(74,968	)	18.68		(26,480	)	19.50		(180,516	)	24.54
Outstanding, end of year	1,501,021		$	18.78	1,275,707		$	19.60	767,540		$	21.93

Expense associated with stock awards was $8.3 million, $6.8 million and $3.0 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Unrecognized pre-tax expense of $10.8 million related to stock awards is expected to be recognized over the weighted average remaining service period of 1.8 years for awards outstanding at December 31, 2016.

At December 31, 2016, 1,147,770 shares of common stock were available for equity-based compensation awards pursuant to the 2016 Employee Plan.

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,
	2016				2015				2014
	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	247,219		$	19.92	221,471		$	20.10	214,455		$	19.56
Awarded	45,886		21.22		53,527		18.56		38,810		22.89
Shares distributed	(39,660	)	21.29		(27,779	)	18.76		(31,794	)	19.70
Outstanding, end of year	253,445		$	19.93	247,219		$	19.92	221,471		$	20.10

Expense associated with awards of deferred stock units was $1.0 million, $1.0 million and $0.9 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

At December 31, 2016, 164,352 shares of common stock were available for equity-based compensation awards pursuant to the 2016 Director Plan.

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,
	2016				2015				2014
	Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at January 1	288,383		$	21.73	503,134		$	18.18	1,208,824		$	18.54
Granted	—		—		—		—		38,820		24.21
Exercised	(114,307	)	21.33		(209,205	)	13.13		(526,359	)	16.36
Canceled/Expired	(3,823	)	22.24		(5,546	)	24.21		(218,151	)	25.61
Outstanding at December 31	170,253		$	21.99	288,383		$	21.73	503,134		$	18.18

Exercisable at December 31	170,253		$	21.99	284,929		$	21.78	452,236		$	18.12

In 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company recorded expense of less than $0.1 million, $0.1 million and $0.6 million, respectively, related to stock option grants. Unrecognized pre-tax expense related to stock option grants was zero at December 31, 2016.

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
Amount collected from stock option exercises	$	2,438	$	2,748	$	8,614
Total intrinsic value of stock option exercises	216		1,108		3,771
Tax benefit of stock option exercises recorded in additional paid-in-capital	615		209		6
Aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding stock options	517		173		1,231
Aggregate intrinsic value of exercisable stock options	517		169		1,209

The intrinsic value calculations are based on the Company’s closing stock price of $23.70, $19.31 and $18.61 on December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, 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 2016 and 2015. The fair value of stock options awarded during 2014 was estimated at the date of grant based on the assumptions presented in the table below:



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