Share capital

The Company's authorized share capital consists of (a) 50,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share; (b) 50,000,000 shares of Class A Stock, par value $0.001 per share; and (c) 99,665 shares of Class B Stock, par value $0.001 per share. No Preferred Stock has been issued. 99,665 shares of Class B Stock have been issued and are outstanding.

The Class A Stock and the Class B Stock are equal in all respects except that the Class A Stock is non-voting.

The following table reflects changes in the number of shares of Class A Stock outstanding for the years indicated:



	2019		2018
Class A Stock outstanding, beginning of year	12,941,809		13,139,203
Issued pursuant to share-based compensation plans (note 15)	80,143		38,728
Repurchased and canceled pursuant to the stock buy-back	(323,249	)	(236,122	)
Class A Stock outstanding, end of year	12,698,703		12,941,809

Stock buy-back

On July 26, 2019, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program that authorizes the Company to purchase up to 640,000 shares of the Company's Class A Stock, representing approximately 5% of its 12,756,308 then issued and outstanding shares of Class A Stock. This authorization supplemented the 26,192 shares that remained authorized and available under the Company's previous share repurchase program covering up to 650,000 shares of the Company's Class A Stock, which was announced on May 5, 2017, for a total of 666,192 shares authorized and available for repurchase.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased and canceled an aggregate of 323,249 shares of Class A Stock for a total consideration of $8.4 million ($25.99 per share). As of December 31, 2019, 589,535 shares remained available to be purchased under this program. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company purchased and canceled an aggregate of 236,122 shares of Class A Stock for a total consideration of $5.9 million ($24.96 per share). As of December 31, 2018, 272,784 shares remained available to be purchased under the previous share repurchase program.

Any such share purchases will be made by the Company from time to time in the open market at the prevailing open market price using cash on hand, in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange and federal and state securities laws and the terms of the Company's Notes. All shares purchased will be canceled. The share repurchase program is expected to continue indefinitely. The timing and amounts of any purchases will be based on market conditions and other factors including price, regulatory requirements and capital availability. The share repurchase program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any dollar amount or number of shares of Class A Stock. Depending on market conditions and other factors, these repurchases may be commenced or suspended from time to time without prior notice.

Dividends

The Company paid cash dividends of $0.46 in 2019 per share to holders of Class A and Class B Stock and $0.44 in 2018 and 2017.