The Company has share-based compensation plans which are described below. The compensation cost that has been charged against earnings for the Company’s stock award plans and the income tax benefit recognized in the statement of earnings for stock awards were as follows (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2023		2022		2021
Compensation cost	$	14,941	$	13,865	$	15,713
Income tax benefit	$	3,616	$	3,533	$	4,410

The Company has an employee stock award plan for selected officers and other key employees which provides for the issuance of RSUs, stock options, restricted stock awards, and performance awards. Restricted stock and RSUs generally vest ratably over five years, however, the plan includes a provision for the continued vesting of unvested stock options and RSUs for employees who meet certain

years of service and age requirements at the time of their retirement. The provision results in shorter expense accrual periods on stock options and RSUs granted to employees who are nearing retirement and meet the service and age requirements. At December 31, 2023, there were 2,045,694 shares available for future grants under the Plan.

The exercise price for each option equals the fair market value per share of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Substantially all stock options outstanding under the plan have terms of seven years and vest ratably over three years. No performance awards payable in stock have been awarded under the plan and no outstanding stock options under the employee plan were issued with stock appreciation rights.

The following is a summary of the stock option activity under the employee plan described above:


	Outstanding Non-Qualified or Nonincentive Stock Option Awards			Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at December 31, 2022		396,165		$	70.06
Exercised		(117,896	)	$	60.84
Expired		(23,024	)	$	73.66
Outstanding at December 31, 2023		255,245		$	74.00

The following table summarizes information about the Company’s outstanding and exercisable stock options under the employee plan at December 31, 2023:


	Options Outstanding								Options Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices	Number Outstanding		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregated Intrinsic Value (in thousands)		Number Exercisable		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregated Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
$64.89		15,500		1.3	$	64.89				15,500	$	64.89
$73.29 – $75.50		233,040		2.1	$	74.29				233,040	$	74.29
$84.90		6,705		2.3	$	84.90				6,705	$	84.90
$64.89 – $84.90		255,245		2.0	$	74.00	$	1,187		255,245	$	74.00	$	1,187

There were no unvested restricted stock awards under the employee plan at December 31, 2023 and 2022 and no restricted stock awards were granted under the employee plan during 2023, 2022, and 2021.

The following is a summary of RSU activity under the employee plan described above:


	Unvested RSUs			Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Unit
Nonvested balance at December 31, 2022		558,819		$	62.13
Granted		184,440		$	72.23
Vested		(161,550	)	$	64.85
Forfeited		(27,105	)	$	63.68
Nonvested balance at December 31, 2023		554,604		$	64.61

The weighted average grant date fair value of RSUs granted for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 was $72.23, $66.13, and $51.36, respectively.

During February 2024, the Company granted 164,793 RSUs to selected officers and other key employees under its employee stock award plan, which substantially all vest ratably over five years.

The Company has a stock award plan for nonemployee directors of the Company which provides for the issuance of stock options and restricted stock. The director plan provides for automatic grants of restricted stock to nonemployee directors after each annual meeting of stockholders. In addition, the director plan allows for the issuance of stock options or restricted stock in lieu of cash for all or part of the annual director fee at the option of the director. The exercise prices for all options granted under the plan are equal to the fair market value per share of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The terms of the options are ten years. The restricted

stock issued after each annual meeting of stockholders vests six months after the date of grant. Options granted and restricted stock issued in lieu of cash director fees vest in equal quarterly increments during the year to which they relate. At December 31, 2023, 369,360 shares were available for future grants under the director plan. The director stock award plan is intended as an incentive to attract and retain qualified independent directors.

The following is a summary of the stock option activity under the director plan described above:


	Outstanding Non-Qualified or Nonincentive Stock Option Awards			Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at December 31, 2022		56,480		$	86.19
Granted		3,865		$	72.83
Exercised		—		$	—
Expired		(30,000	)	$	80.04
Outstanding at December 31, 2023		30,345		$	90.57

The following table summarizes information about the Company’s outstanding and exercisable stock options under the director plan at December 31, 2023:


	Options Outstanding								Options Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices	Number Outstanding		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)		Number Exercisable		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
$70.65 – $73.57		7,053		6.6	$	71.85				6,278	$	71.75
$84.90 – $85.30		5,292		4.8	$	85.10				5,292	$	85.10
$99.52		18,000		0.3	$	99.52				18,000	$	99.52
$70.65 – $99.52		30,345		2.6	$	90.57	$	47		29,570	$	91.04	$	42

The following is a summary of the restricted stock award activity under the director plan described above:


	Unvested Restricted Stock Award Shares			Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Nonvested balance at December 31, 2022		1,698		$	65.36
Granted		31,526		$	72.67
Vested		(32,604	)	$	72.29
Nonvested balance at December 31, 2023		620		$	72.65

The weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock awards granted under the director plan for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 were $72.67, $64.61, and $65.13, respectively.

The total intrinsic value of all stock options exercised under all of the Company’s plans was $1.5 million, $0.4 million, and $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

The total fair value of all the restricted stock vestings under all of the Company’s plans was $2.5 million, $3.2 million, and $5.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. The actual tax benefit realized for tax deductions from restricted stock vestings was $0.6 million, $0.8 million, and $1.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

The total fair value of all the RSU vestings under the Company’s employee plan was $10.9 million, $9.5 million, and $4.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. The actual tax benefit realized for tax deductions from RSU vestings was $2.6 million, $2.4 million, and $1.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

As of December 31, 2023, there was $45,000 of unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock and $15.3 million related to nonvested RSUs. The restricted stock is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 0.2 years and RSUs over approximately 2.7 years.

There were no stock options granted under the employee plan during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. The weighted average per share fair value of stock options granted under the director plan during the year ended December 31, 2023 was $32.33 and the fair value of the stock options was $0.1 million. There were no stock options granted under the director plan during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company currently uses treasury stock shares for restricted stock grants, RSU vestings, and stock option exercises. The fair value of each stock option was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

The key input variables used in valuing the stock options granted were as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2023
Dividend yield	None
Average risk-free interest rate		3.7	%
Stock price volatility		35	%
Estimated option term	7 years