Share-based Payment Arrangements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Share-based Payment Arrangements [Abstract]

Share-based Payment Arrangements

13. Share-based Payment Arrangements:

Our 2015 Long Term Incentive Plan (“2015 LTIP”) was approved by shareholders on May 29, 2015.  There are 2,000,000 shares authorized for issuance under the 2015 LTIP.  As of December 31, 2022, restricted stock units representing the right to receive up to 1,039,740 shares of our common stock were outstanding under the 2015 LTIP.  There were no stock option awards granted under the 2015 LTIP as of December 31, 2022.

Stock Options:

There were no stock options outstanding as of or during any point for the year ended December 31, 2022.  As of December 31, 2022, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested stock options.  

Restricted Stock Units:

Restricted stock units awarded under the 2015 LTIP represent the right to receive shares of common stock upon the satisfaction of vesting requirements, performance criteria and other terms and conditions.  For grants issued prior to 2021, restricted stock units vest and shares of common stock become issuable on March 31 of the third calendar year following the year of grant if performance criteria have been satisfied.  Restricted stock units awarded under the 2015 LTIP granted during 2021 and 2022  cumulatively vest up to 50%, 80% and 100% and, shares of common stock become issuable on March 31 of the third, fourth and fifth calendar years, respectively, following the year of grant if performance criteria have been satisfied.  

The performance criteria for the restricted stock units vary based on the grantee.  The number of shares of common stock to be received ranged from 50% to 150% of the number of restricted stock units granted based on achievement of the

performance criteria.  Grantees of restricted stock units do not have any rights of a stockholder, and do not participate in any distributions to our common stockholders, until the award fully vests upon satisfaction of the vesting schedule, performance criteria and other conditions set forth in their award agreement.  Therefore, unvested restricted stock units are not considered participating securities under ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share,” and are not included in the calculation of basic or diluted earnings per share.  

Compensation cost is measured as an amount equal to the fair value of the restricted stock units on the date of grant and is expensed over the vesting period if achievement of the performance criteria is deemed probable, with the amount of the expense recognized based on our best estimate of the ultimate achievement level.  The grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted in  2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 was $10.87, $18.10, $4.21 and $3.62 per unit, respectively.  We incurred compensation expense of $340 thousand and $228 thousand related to restricted stock units during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.  We recorded income tax benefit of $71 thousand and $48 thousand related to restricted stock units during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The following table details the status of our restricted stock units as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

	Number of Restricted Stock Units
	2022	2021
Nonvested at January 1	58,169	22,883
Granted	61,175	52,376
Vested	(1,236)	(3,031)
Forfeited	(48,792)	(14,059)
Nonvested at December 31	69,316	58,169

As of December 31, 2022, there was $1.9 million of unrecognized grant date compensation cost related to unvested restricted stock units assuming compensation cost accrual at target achievement level.  Based on the current performance estimate, we expect to recognize $1.2 million of compensation cost related to unvested restricted stock units, of which $0.5 million is expected to be recognized in 2023, $0.4 million in 2024, $0.2 million in 2025, $0.1 million in 2026 and $8 thousand is expected to be recognized in 2027.