Stockholders' Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The following table summarizes information about shares of the Company’s common stock at:

	September 30,		December 31,
(In thousands)	2016	2015	2015
Common stock authorized	75,000	75,000	75,000
Common stock issued	27,308	26,827	27,039
Treasury stock	2,684	2,684	2,684

The following reconciliation details the denominator used in the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:

	Nine Months Ended   September 30,		Three Months Ended   September 30,
(In thousands)	2016	2015	2016	2015
Weighted average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	24,587	24,261	24,724	24,289
Common stock equivalents pertaining to stock options and deferred stock units	295	353	336	397
Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	24,882	24,614	25,060	24,686

The weighted average diluted shares outstanding for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 exclude the effect of 219,302 and 284,884 shares of common stock, respectively, subject to stock-based performance awards. The weighted average diluted shares outstanding for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 exclude the effect of 171,514 and 237,384 shares of common stock, respectively, subject to stock-based performance awards. Such shares were excluded from total diluted shares because they were anti-dilutive or the specified performance conditions those shares were subject to were not yet achieved.

On April 15, 2016, June 17, 2016 and September 2, 2016, a dividend of $0.30 per share of the Company’s common stock, representing an aggregate of $7.3 million, $7.4 million and $7.4 million, respectively, was paid to stockholders of record as of April 1, 2016, June 6, 2016 and August 19, 2016, respectively. In connection with these dividends, holders of deferred stock units, restricted stock and stock awards were credited with deferred stock units, restricted stock or stock equal to $0.30 for each deferred stock unit, share of restricted stock or stock award, representing $0.3 million for each of these dividends, respectively.

On April 10, 2015, a special dividend of $2.00 per share of the Company’s common stock, representing an aggregate of $48.2 million, was paid to stockholders of record as of March 27, 2015. In connection with this special dividend, holders of deferred stock units, restricted stock and stock awards were credited with deferred stock units, restricted stock or stock equal to $2.00 for each deferred stock unit, share of restricted stock or stock award, representing $1.8 million in total for this special dividend. In connection with this special cash dividend, the exercise price of all outstanding stock options was reduced by $2.00 per share. The reductions in exercise price were made pursuant to the terms of the outstanding awards, resulting in no incremental stock-based compensation expense.

In February 2016, the Company issued 4,784 deferred stock units at the average price of $55.22, or $0.3 million, to executive officers in lieu of cash for a portion of their 2015 incentive compensation. In February 2015, the Company issued 36,579 deferred stock units at the average price of $55.95, or $2.0 million, to executive officers in lieu of cash for a portion of their 2014 incentive compensation.