SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

Preferred Stock

The Company has 2,300,000 shares of its 8.50% Series A Preferred Stock and 2,250,000 shares of its 7.625% Series B Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2015 (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. The Company announced that it will pay its regular quarterly dividends on its Preferred Stock for the third quarter on October 15, 2015 to shareholders of record as of October 1, 2015.

Common Stock

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



	Nine Months Ended
	September 30,
	2015		2014
Balance as of beginning of period	54,739,111		54,310,484
Common stock issued under DRIP	16,862		12,459
Common stock issued under stock and incentive plans	263,829		471,210
Common stock forfeited for tax withholding on share-based compensation	(67,296	)	(59,336	)
Common stock repurchased during the period	(4,383,716	)	—
Balance as of end of period	50,568,790		54,734,817

The Company had 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 September 30, 2015.

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 2,433,283 shares remaining for issuance as of September 30, 2015. The Company declared a third quarter common stock dividend of $0.24 per share payable on October 30, 2015 to shareholders of record as of October 6, 2015. There was no discount for shares purchased through the DRIP during the third quarter of 2015.

Of the $50,000 authorized by the Company's Board of Directors for the repurchase of its common stock through December 31, 2016, approximately $18,948 remains available for repurchase at the Company's option as of September 30, 2015.

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 994,096 available for issuance as of September 30, 2015. Total stock-based compensation expense recognized by the Company for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $745 and $2,220, respectively, compared to $690 and $2,045, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014.

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



	Three Months Ended			Nine Months Ended
	September 30,			September 30,
	2015	2014 ⁽¹⁾		2015		2014 ⁽¹⁾
Restricted stock outstanding as of beginning of period	696,597	735,223		731,809		520,987
Restricted stock granted	—	—		263,829		457,538
Restricted stock vested	—	(3,414	)	(299,041	)	(246,716	)
Restricted stock outstanding as of end of period	696,597	731,809		696,597		731,809

(1) Amounts shown for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 have been adjusted from amounts previously disclosed to correct computational errors relating to vesting terms on grants made in the first quarter of 2013.

The combined grant date fair value of the restricted stock issued by the Company for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $2,167 compared to $3,703 for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. As of September 30, 2015, the fair value of the Company’s outstanding restricted stock remaining to be amortized into compensation expense is $4,242 which will be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.8 years.