SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Operating Partnership Units. Outstanding Units in the Operating Partnership were 1.4 million Units at December 31, 2018, 1.4 million Units at April 30, 2018, and 1.6 million Units at April 30, 2017.

Exchange Rights. Pursuant to the exercise of Exchange Rights, we redeemed Units during the transition period ended December 31, 2018 and the fiscal years ended April 30, 2018 and 2017 as detailed in the table below.



	(in thousands, except per Unit amounts)
	Number of	Aggregate		Average Price
	Units	Cost		Per Unit
Transition Period Ended December 31, 2018	9	$	499	$	53.12
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2018	149	8,775		58.90
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2017	17	966		58.40

We also redeemed Units in exchange for common shares during the transition period ended December 31, 2018 and the fiscal years ended April 30, 2018 and April 30, 2017 as detailed in the table below.



	(in thousands)
	Number of	Total Book
	Units	Value
Transition Period Ended December 31, 2018	33	$	649
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2018	3	34
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2017	50	875

Common Shares and Equity Awards. Common shares outstanding on December 31, 2018, April 30, 2018 and April 30, 2017, totaled 11.9 million, 12.0 million, and 12.1 million, respectively. During the transition period ended December 31, 2018 and the fiscal years ended April 30, 2018 and 2017, we issued approximately 5,600, 9,300, and 60,400 common shares, respectively, with a total grant-date value of $347,000, $536,000, and $2.6 million, respectively, under our 2015 Incentive Plan, for executive officer and trustee share-based compensation for future performance. During fiscal year 2017, we also issued approximately 5,900 common shares, with a total grant-date value of approximately $352,000, under our 2008 Incentive Plan, for trustee share based compensation for fiscal year 2016 performance. During the transition period ended December 31, 2018 and the fiscal years ended April 30, 2018 and 2017, approximately 200, 3,200, and 27,400 common shares were forfeited under the 2015 Incentive Plan, respectively.

Share Repurchase Program. On December 7, 2016, our Board of Trustees authorized a share repurchase program to repurchase up to 50 million of our common shares over a one year period. On December 5, 2017, our Board of Trustees reauthorized this share repurchase program for an additional one year period. On December 5, 2018, our Board of Trustees reauthorized this share repurchase program for an third one-year period. Under this program, we may repurchase common shares in open-market purchases, including pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 plans, as determined by management and in accordance with the requirements of the SEC. The extent to which we repurchase our shares, and the timing of such repurchases, will depend upon a variety of factors, including market conditions, regulatory requirements, and other corporate considerations, as determined by the executive management team. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. During the transition period ended December 31, 2018, we repurchased and retired approximately 42,000 common shares for an aggregate cost of $2.2 million, including commissions, at an average price per share of $51.36, excluding commissions. During fiscal year 2018, we repurchased and retired approximately 178,000 common shares for an aggregate cost of $9.9 million, including commissions, at an average price per share of $55.82, excluding commissions. During fiscal year 2017, we repurchased and retired approximately 78,000 common shares for an aggregate cost of $4.5 million, including commissions, at an average price per share of $57.69.

Issuance of Preferred Shares and Redemption of Series B Preferred Shares. In the year ended April 30, 2018, we issued 4,118,460 shares of our 6.625% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series C preferred shares") and redeemed all 4,600,000 shares of our 7.95% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares. The Series C preferred shares are nonvoting and redeemable for cash at $25.00 per share at our option on or after October 2, 2022. Holders of these shares are entitled to cumulative distributions, payable quarterly (as and if declared by the Board of Trustees). Distributions accrue at an annual rate of $1.65625 per share, which is equal to 6.625% of the $25.00 per share liquidation preference ($103.0 million liquidation preference in the aggregate). In the year ended April 30, 2017, we completed the redemption of all of the outstanding 8.25% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares (“Preferred A Shares”) for an aggregate redemption price of $29.2 million, and such shares are no longer outstanding as of such date.