Earnings Per Share ("EPS")

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

NOTE 22 – Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)

Basic EPS is computed by dividing earnings available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that then shared in the earnings of the entity. Diluted earnings per share include dilutive stock options and stock units under the treasury stock method.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands, except per share data):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Net income	$	173,549	$	173,015
Preferred dividends		9,320		8,289
Net income available to common shareholders	$	164,229	$	164,726
Shares for basic and diluted calculation:
Average shares used in basic computation		109,205		107,746
Dilutive effect of stock options and units (1)		8,935		10,129
Average shares used in diluted computation		118,140		117,875
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$	1.50	$	1.53
Diluted	$	1.39	$	1.40

(1)

Diluted earnings per share is computed on the basis of the weighted-average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method. Diluted earnings per share include units.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the anti-dilutive effect from restricted stock units was immaterial.

Cash Dividends

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, we declared and paid cash dividends of $0.30 per common share. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, we declared and paid cash dividends of $0.15 per common share.