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Employee Benefits and Stock Compensation
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Employee Benefits and Stock Compensation Employee Benefits and Stock Compensation
The Company’s defined contribution plan covers substantially all employees after one year of service and includes a matching benefit for employees who can elect to defer a portion of their compensation. In addition, amounts of compensation contributed by employees are matched on a percentage basis under the plan. The Company's contributions to this plan charged to expense were $4.8 million in 2023, $3.5 million in 2022, and $3.1 million in 2021.
The Company, through its Compensation and Governance Committee of the board of directors (the “Compensation Committee”), offers equity compensation to employees and non-employee directors of Seacoast and Seacoast Bank in the form of various share-based awards, including stock options, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), or restricted stock units (“RSUs”). The awards may vest over time, have certain performance based criteria, or both.
Stock options are granted with an exercise price at least equal to the market price of the Company’s stock at the date of grant. The fair value of options granted is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Compensation cost is amortized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. Vesting is determined by the Compensation Committee at the time of grant, generally over five years. The options have a maximum term of ten years. 
The fair value of RSAs and RSUs are estimated based on the price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Compensation cost is measured straight-line for RSAs and ratably for RSUs over the vesting period of the awards and reversed for awards that are forfeited due to unfulfilled service or performance criteria. To the extent the Company has treasury shares available, stock options exercised or stock grants awarded may be issued from treasury shares. If treasury shares are insufficient, the Company can issue new shares.
Vesting of share-based awards is immediately accelerated on death or disability of the recipient. The Compensation Committee may, at its discretion, accelerate vesting upon retirement or upon the event of a change-in-control.
Awards are currently granted under the Seacoast 2021 Incentive Plan (“2021 Plan”), with 3,750,000 authorized shares for issuance, plus shares of underlying awards outstanding under the 2013 Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) that thereafter terminate or expire unexercised or are cancelled, forfeited or lapse for any reason under the Prior Plan.
In 2021, as part of the Legacy Bank acquisition, 356,497 options were granted to replace outstanding Legacy Bank options. These options had a weighted average exercise price of $16.70 and were fully vested upon acquisition. The value of the replacement awards associated with pre-combination service, $4.7 million, was considered purchase consideration, and the value of the replacement awards associated with post-combination service, $0.9 million, was recognized as compensation expense in 2021.
In 2022, as part of the acquisitions of BBFC, Sabal Palm and Apollo, 52,432, 188,253 and 274,373 options, respectively, were granted to replace outstanding options. These options had weighted average exercise prices of $26.63, $17.84 and $9.94, respectively, and were fully vested upon acquisition. Additionally, as part of the acquisition of Apollo, 37,240 warrants were granted to replace outstanding Apollo warrants. These warrants had a weighted average exercise price of $9.94 and were fully vested upon acquisition. The full value of the options and warrants issued through acquisitions in 2022, $10.4 million, was considered purchase consideration.
In 2023, as part of the acquisition of Professional, 501,561 options were granted to replace outstanding options. These options had a weighted average exercise price of $12.63 and were fully vested upon acquisition. The full value of the options issued through the Professional acquisition was $10.3 million and was considered purchase consideration.
The impact of share-based compensation on the Company’s financial results is presented below:
For the Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands)202320222021
Share-based compensation expense1
$13,440 $11,155 $8,685 
Income tax benefit(3,406)(2,827)(2,067)
1 Excludes $10.3 million in 2023, $10.4 million in 2022 and $4.7 million in 2021 associated with replacement awards granted in bank acquisitions.
The total unrecognized compensation cost and the weighted-average period over which unrecognized compensation cost is expected to be recognized related to non-vested share-based compensation arrangements at December 31, 2023 is presented below:
(In thousands)Unrecognized
Compensation
Cost		Weighted-Average Period Remaining (Years)
Restricted stock awards$14,392 1.94
Restricted stock units5,636 2.30
Total$20,028 2.04
Restricted Stock Awards
RSAs are granted to various employees and vest over time, generally three years. Compensation cost of RSAs is based on the market value of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant and is recognized over the required service period on a straight-line basis. The Company’s accounting policy is to recognize forfeitures as they occur.
A summary of the status of the Company’s non-vested RSAs as of December 31, 2023, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:
Restricted
Award
Shares		Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Non-vested at January 1, 2023533,275 $31.26 
Granted631,409 24.57 
Forfeited/Canceled(112,456)27.35 
Vested(289,016)28.22 
Non-vested at December 31, 2023763,212 $27.45 
Information regarding restricted stock awards during each of the following years is presented below:
For the Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Weighted-average grant date fair value$24.57 $33.08 $35.08 
Fair value of awards vested1
$8,156 $6,923 $4,731 
1Based on grant date fair value, in thousands.
Restricted Stock Units
RSUs allow the grantee to earn 0%-225% of the target award based on the Company's achievement of performance goals relating to average annual earnings per share growth and average annual return on average tangible equity relative to a group of peer companies, each measured over a three year period beginning with the year of grant.
A summary of the status of the Company’s non-vested RSUs as of December 31, 2023, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:
Restricted
Award
Shares		Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Non-vested at January 1, 2023310,034 $28.69 
Granted233,175 22.84 
Forfeited/Canceled(47,416)20.58 
Vested(112,092)17.82 
Non-vested at December 31, 2023383,701 $29.31 
 Information regarding restricted stock units during each of the following years is presented below:
For the Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Weighted-average grant date fair value$22.84 $34.11 $35.24 
Fair value of awards vested1
$1,997 $2,305 $1,936 
1Based on grant date fair value, in thousands.
Stock Options
The fair value of options and warrants granted is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes options-pricing model. In 2023, 2022, and 2021, options to purchase shares of Seacoast stock were granted to option holders of acquired entities in accordance with the terms of the merger agreements.
For the Year Ended December 31,
 202320222021
Risk-free interest rates4.25 %2.21 %0.12 %
Expected dividend yield2.45 %1.95 %1.65 %
Expected volatility64.32 %32.09 %36.87 %
Expected lives (years)1.81.01.0
A summary of the Company’s stock options as of December 31, 2023, and changes during the year then ended, is presented below:
 OptionsWeighted-Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at January 1, 2023837,622 $21.72 
Granted in Acquisition
501,561 12.63 
Exercised(507,133)14.76 
Forfeited(8,087)20.77 
Outstanding and Exercisable at December 31, 2023
823,963 $20.48 
Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years)3.29
Aggregate Intrinsic Value (000s)
$7,053 
The following table presents information related to stock options during each of the following years:
For the Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Weighted-average grant date fair value$12.63 $14.28 $16.70 
Intrinsic value of stock options exercised, in thousands5,969 8,860 5,808 

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
The Company sponsors a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”), which is a non-qualified deferred compensation arrangement that provides the Company's Chief Executive Officer with supplemental retirement benefits. The present value of the accumulated benefit, which is recorded as an accrued liability, was $0.4 million and $0.2 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) authorizes the Company to issue up to 800,000 common shares of the Company’s common stock to eligible employees of the Company. These shares may be purchased by employees at a price equal to 95% of the fair market value of the shares on the purchase date. Employee contributions to the ESPP are made through payroll deductions. 
 202320222021
ESPP shares purchased35,630 20,972 14,834 
Weighted-average employee purchase price$22.56 $30.76 $32.43