SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

Preferred Stock

The Company has 2,300,000 shares of its 8.50% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock and 2,250,000 shares of its 7.625% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2014 (collectively, the "Preferred Stock"). The Preferred Stock has no maturity and will remain outstanding indefinitely unless redeemed or otherwise repurchased or converted into common stock pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Stock. Except under certain limited circumstances intended to preserve the Company's REIT status, upon the occurrence of a change in control as defined in Article IIIA, Section 7(d) of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, or to avoid the direct or indirect imposition of a penalty tax in respect of, or to protect the tax status of, any of the Company’s real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMIC”) interests or a REMIC in which the Company may acquire an interest (as permitted by the Company’s Articles of Incorporation), the Company may not redeem the Series A Preferred Stock prior to July 31, 2017 or the Series B Preferred Stock prior to April 30, 2018. On or after these dates, at any time and from time to time, the Preferred Stock may be redeemed in whole, or in part, at the Company's option at a cash redemption price of $25.00 per share plus any accumulated and unpaid dividends. The Series A Preferred Stock pays a cumulative cash dividend equivalent to 8.50% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share each year and the Series B Preferred Stock pays a cumulative cash dividend equivalent to 7.625% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share each year. Because the Preferred Stock is redeemable only at the option of the issuer, it is classified as equity on the Company's consolidated balance sheet.

Common Stock

The following table presents a summary of the changes in the number of common shares outstanding for the periods presented:



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2014		2013
Balance as of beginning of period	54,310,484		54,268,915
Common stock issued under DRIP	3,938		298,304
Common stock issued under ATM program	—		180,986
Common stock issued or redeemed under stock and incentive plans	442,035		139,600
Common stock forfeited for tax withholding on share-based compensation	(59,150	)	(52,385	)
Balance as of end of period	54,697,307		54,835,420

The Company had approximately 7,416,520 shares of common stock that remain available to offer and sell through its sales agent, JMP Securities LLC, under its "at the market", or "ATM" program, as of March 31, 2014.

The Company's Dividend Reinvestment and Share Purchase Plan ("DRIP") allows registered shareholders to automatically reinvest some or all of their quarterly common stock dividends in shares of the Company’s common stock and provides an opportunity for investors to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, potentially at a discount to the prevailing market price. Of the 3,000,000 shares reserved for issuance under the Company's DRIP, there were 2,462,960 shares remaining for issuance as of March 31, 2014. The Company declared a first quarter common stock dividend of $0.25 per share payable on April 30, 2014 to shareholders of record as of April 4, 2014. There was no discount for shares purchased through the DRIP during the first quarter of 2014.

Of the $50,000 authorized by the Company's Board of Directors for the repurchase of its common stock through December 31, 2014, approximately $42,145 remains available for repurchase at the Company's option as of March 31, 2014.

2009 Stock and Incentive Plan. Of the 2,500,000 shares of common stock authorized for issuance under its 2009 Stock and Incentive Plan, the Company had 1,108,083 available for issuance as of March 31, 2014. Total stock-based compensation expense recognized by the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2014 was $672 compared to $489 for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

The following table presents a rollforward of the restricted stock activity for the periods indicated:



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2014		2013
Restricted stock outstanding as of beginning of period	520,969		448,283
Restricted stock granted	428,363		139,600
Restricted stock vested	(188,620	)	(153,720	)
Restricted stock outstanding as of end of period	760,712		434,163

The restricted stock granted during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2013 had combined fair values of $3,453 and $1,491, respectively, at their grant dates. As of March 31, 2014, the balance of the Company’s outstanding restricted stock remaining to be amortized into compensation expense is $6,092 of which $1,902 is expected to be amortized in the remaining nine months of 2014, $2,161 in 2015, $1,452 in 2016, $541 in 2017, and $36 in 2018. The Company did not have any other type of stock-based compensation issued or outstanding as of March 31, 2014 or December 31, 2013 other than its restricted stock.