Meredith has an employee stock purchase plan and a stock incentive plan, both of which are shareholder-approved. More detailed descriptions of these plans follow. Compensation expense recognized for these plans was $17.5 million in fiscal 2021, $13.9 million in fiscal 2020, and $22.9 million in fiscal 2019. The total income tax benefit recognized in earnings (loss) was $3.8 million in fiscal 2021, $3.2 million in fiscal 2020, and $4.9 million in fiscal 2019.

Meredith has a stock incentive plan that permits the Company to issue stock options, restricted stock, stock equivalent units, restricted stock units, and performance shares to key employees and directors of the Company. Approximately 5.0 million shares remained available for future awards under the plan as of June 30, 2021. Forfeited awards, shares deemed to be delivered to us on tender of stock in payment for the exercise price of options, and shares reacquired pursuant to tax withholding on option exercises and the vesting of restricted shares and restricted stock units increase shares available for future awards. The plan is designed to provide an incentive to contribute to the achievement of long-range corporate goals; provide flexibility in motivating, attracting, and retaining employees; and to align more closely the employees’ interests with those of shareholders.

The Company has awarded restricted stock and restricted stock units to eligible key employees and non-employee directors under the plan. In addition, certain awards are granted based on specified levels of Company stock ownership. All awards have restriction periods tied primarily to employment and/or service. The awards granted to employees generally vest three or five years from the date of the grant, and the awards granted to directors vest one-third each year during the three-year period from date of grant. The grant date of awards is the date the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approves the granting of the awards or a date thereafter as specified by the Committee. The awards are recorded at the market value of traded shares on the date of the grant as unearned compensation. The initial values of the grants are amortized over the vesting periods.


Restricted Stock	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value			Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(Shares in thousands and Aggregate Intrinsic Value in millions)
Nonvested at June 30, 2020	23.2		$	42.90
Granted	38.0		15.98
Vested	(11.2)		44.46

Nonvested at June 30, 2021	50.0		22.09			$	2.2

As of June 30, 2021, there was no unearned compensation cost related to restricted stock granted under the plan. The weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock granted during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, was $15.98, $35.39, and $58.76, respectively. The total fair value of shares vested during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, was $0.2 million, $0.4 million, and $0.8 million, respectively.


Restricted Stock Units	Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value			Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(Units in thousands and Aggregate Intrinsic Value in millions)
Nonvested at June 30, 2020	531.5		$	44.31
Granted	1,059.7		14.33
Vested	(127.8)		49.51
Forfeited	(98.4)		23.94
Nonvested at June 30, 2021	1,365.0		22.01			$	59.3

As of June 30, 2021, there was $8.9 million of unearned compensation cost related to restricted stock units granted under the plan. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.9 years. The weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, was $14.33, $35.50, and $52.55, respectively. The total fair value of shares vested during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, was $2.0 million, $7.9 million, and $13.0 million, respectively.

Meredith also has outstanding stock equivalent units resulting from the deferral of compensation of employees and directors under various deferred compensation plans. The period of deferral is specified when the deferral election is made. These stock equivalent units are issued at the market price of the underlying stock on the date of deferral. In addition, shares of restricted stock and restricted stock units may be converted to stock equivalent units upon vesting.


Stock Equivalent Units	Units	Weighted Average Issue Date Fair Value
(Units in thousands)
Balance at June 30, 2020	207.6		$	38.42
Additions	20.0		15.90
Converted to common stock	(64.8)		35.03
Balance at June 30, 2021	162.8		37.00

The stock equivalent units outstanding at June 30, 2021, had $1.0 million aggregate intrinsic value. The total intrinsic value of stock equivalent units converted to common stock was zero for the year ended June 30, 2021, compared to zero in fiscal 2020, and $1.7 million for fiscal 2019.

Meredith has granted nonqualified stock options to certain employees and directors under the plan. The grant date of options issued is the date the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approves the granting of the options or a date thereafter as specified by the Committee. The exercise price of options granted is set at the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. All options granted under the plan expire at the end of 10 years. Options granted to employees vest three years from the date of grant. Options granted to directors vest one-third each year during the three-year period from date of grant.


Stock Options	Options	Weighted Average Exercise Price			Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(Options in thousands and Aggregate Intrinsic Value in millions)
Outstanding July 1, 2020	2,896.0		$	48.57
Granted	1,200.5		14.46
Exercised	(63.5)		27.87
Forfeited	(152.4)		32.64
Outstanding June 30, 2021	3,880.6		39.16		7.0	$	37.3
Exercisable June 30, 2021	1,933.3		$	51.49	5.4	$	1.6

The fair value of each option is estimated as of the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The expected volatility was based on a blend of historical volatility of the Company’s common stock taking into consideration Meredith’s capital structure and implied volatility in market traded options on the Company’s common stock with a term greater than six months. The expected life of options granted used the simplified method under U.S. GAAP to determine the expected life. The risk-free rate for periods that coincide with the expected life of the options is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant.


Years ended June 30,	2021		2020		2019
Risk-free interest rate	0.4-0.7%		1.4-1.8%		2.3%-3.0%
Expected dividend yield	—	%	5	%	4	%
Expected option life	6-6.5 yrs		6-6.5 yrs		6-6.5 yrs
Expected stock price volatility	52-56%		40	%	33-35%

The weighted average grant date fair value of options granted during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, was $5.56, $8.64, and $12.26, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, was $0.6 million, $0.4 million, and $1.7 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2021, there was $3.2 million in unrecognized compensation cost for stock options granted under the plan. This cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.9 years.

Cash received from option exercises under all share-based payment plans for the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019 was $1.8 million, $1.0 million, and $4.4 million, respectively. The actual tax benefit realized for the tax deductions from option exercises totaled $0.2 million, $0.1 million, and $0.4 million, respectively, for the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019.

On January 1, 2020, Meredith reintroduced a previously suspended Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The ESPP allows employees to purchase shares of Meredith common stock at a 5 percent discount on the market value at the end of each quarter through bi-weekly payroll deductions. Shares purchased through the ESPP that are held for two years qualify for a 15 percent Company match on the original purchase price in the form of additional shares of Meredith stock. The ESPP has quarterly offering periods. There were 2 million common shares authorized and approximately 0.6 million shares remained available for issuance under the ESPP as of June 30, 2021.

Compensation cost for the ESPP was based on the fair value of the employee match amortized over the match period of two years. In fiscal 2021, the Company issued approximately 0.1 million ESPP shares that had a weighted average market price per share at purchase of $22.57 and an average purchase price per share of $21.44. In fiscal 2020, the Company issued approximately 0.1 million ESPP shares that had a weighted average market price per share at purchase of $13.43 and an average purchase price per share of $12.76.