SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY AND SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

Preferred Stock

The Company's articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, of which the Company’s Board of Directors has designated 8,000,000 shares of 8.50% Series A Preferred Stock and 7,000,000 shares of 7.625% Series B Preferred Stock, (the Series A Preferred Stock and the Series B Preferred Stock collectively, the “Preferred Stock”). The Company had 2,300,000 shares of its Series A Preferred Stock and 3,641,659 shares of its Series B Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2018 compared to 2,300,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock and 3,588,680 shares of Series B Preferred Stock as of December 31, 2017.

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. The Company's Preferred Stock may be redeemed in whole, or in part, at any time and from time to time at the Company's option at a cash redemption price of $25.00 per share plus any accumulated and unpaid dividends. 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 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. The Company paid its regular quarterly dividends on its Preferred Stock for the third quarter on October 15, 2018 to shareholders of record as of October 1, 2018.

Common Stock

The Company declared a third quarter common stock dividend of $0.18 per share that was paid on October 31, 2018 to shareholders of record as of October 3, 2018.

Stock and Incentive Plans. The Company’s Board adopted the 2018 Stock and Incentive Plan which was approved by the Company’s shareholders on May 15, 2018. The 2018 Plan, which replaced the Company’s 2009 Stock and Incentive Plan (the “2009 Plan”), reserves for issuance up to 3,000,000 shares of common stock for eligible employees, non-employee directors, consultants, and advisors to the Company to be granted in the form of stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance units, and performance cash awards. During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, 36,924 shares of restricted stock were issued under the 2018 Plan. Awards previously granted under the 2009 Plan will remain outstanding in accordance with their terms, but the Company will not grant any new equity awards under the 2009 Plan.

Total stock-based compensation expense recognized by the Company for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 was $301 and $930, respectively, compared to $388 and $1,567, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017. The following table presents a rollforward of the restricted stock activity for the periods indicated:



	Three Months Ended
	September 30,
	2018			2017
	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Restricted stock outstanding as of beginning of period	341,713	$	6.37	353,103	$	7.01
Restricted stock granted	—	—		—	—
Restricted stock vested	—	—		—	—
Restricted stock outstanding as of end of period	341,713	$	6.37	353,103	$	7.01



	Nine Months Ended
	September 30,
	2018				2017
	Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share		Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Restricted stock outstanding as of beginning of period	353,103		$	7.01	553,396		$	7.55
Restricted stock granted	213,157		6.28		138,166		6.76
Restricted stock vested	(224,547	)	7.28		(338,459	)	7.80
Restricted stock outstanding as of end of period	341,713		$	6.37	353,103		$	7.01

As of September 30, 2018, the grant date fair value of the Company’s remaining nonvested restricted stock is $1,534 which will be amortized into compensation expense over a weighted average period of 1.8 years.