Note 15 - Stock Based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Notes to Financial Statements

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]

15. Stock Based Compensation

We account for share-based awards in accordance with ASC 718, which requires the fair value of stock-based compensation awards to be amortized as an expense over the vesting period. Stock-based compensation awards are valued at fair value on the date of grant. The following table sets forth share-based award expense activity for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2016		2015
	(Dollars in thousands)
Stock option grant expense	$	2,650	$	376
Restricted stock awards expense		337		499
Total stock based compensation	$	2,987	$	875

On May 18, 2015, the Company granted a non-qualified stock option to each of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer for 1,000,000 shares of common stock under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. The terms of each option provide that, over a five year period, one third of the option shares will vest as of each of the third, fourth, and fifth anniversary dates of the grant of the option; provided that all unvested option shares will vest immediately in the event the closing price of the Company’s stock, as reported by the New York Stock Exchange, in any 20 out of 30 consecutive trading days closes at a price equal to or greater than 120% of the closing price on the date of grant (the “market-based condition”). The option exercise price is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, which was $28.45 and the expiration date of each option is May 18, 2025. In accordance with ASC 718, the market-based awards were assigned a fair value of $5.62 per share on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model, which resulted in $11.2 million in future expense being recorded on a straight-line basis through the end of the 2016 second quarter.

For the 2016 first quarter, $3.0 million of total stock-based compensation expense was recognized, $2.5 million of which was related to the market-based option grants discussed above.