STOCK COMPENSATION PLANS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

STOCK COMPENSATION PLANS [Abstract]

STOCK COMPENSATION PLANS

NOTE 3 – STOCK COMPENSATION PLANS

On December 9, 2015, the Company's stockholders approved the 2015 Equity Compensation Plan, or the 2015 Plan, which replaced the 2005 Equity Compensation Plan, or the 2005 Plan, that expired on May 24, 2015. The 2015 Plan provides that grants may be in any of the following forms: incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock units, stock awards, dividend equivalents and other stock-based awards. The 2015 Plan is administered and interpreted by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, or the Committee. The Committee has the authority to determine the individuals to whom grants will be made under the 2015 Plan, the type, size and terms of the grants, the time when grants will be made and the duration of any applicable exercise or restriction period (subject to the limitations of the 2015 Plan), and deal with any other matters arising under the 2015 Plan. The Committee presently consists of three directors, each of whom is a non-employee director of the Company. All of the employees of the Company and its subsidiaries and non-employee directors of the Company are eligible for grants under the 2015 Plan. 

A compensation expense of $34,000 related to the May 2016 issue of restricted stock awards was recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2017.  Costs were determined based on the fair value on date of the award and those costs were charged to income over the service period associated with the award. There was no recorded expense associated with equity compensation for the three month period ended March 31, 2016.

There was no stock compensation cost capitalized as part of an asset.

On May 4, 2016, 5,000 shares of Class A common stock, or Class A Stock, were granted as restricted stock awards.  The fair value per share was 27.70, the closing price of the Class A Stock as recorded on the Nasdaq Global Market on May 4, 2016.  The restricted shares are subject to a one year vesting period from the date of grant. Prior to their release date, these restricted stock awards may be subject to forfeiture in the event of the recipient's termination of employment.

On December 18, 2015, 5,000 shares of Class A Stock were issued as fully vested unrestricted stock awards. The fair value per share was $27.38, the closing price of the Class A Stock as recorded on the Nasdaq Global Market on December 18, 2015.

The following summary reflects changes in the shares of Class A Stock underlying options and restricted stock awards for the three months ended March 31, 2017:

	Options									Restricted Awards
	Option Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Life (Yrs.)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)		Outstanding Restricted Stock Awards		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Plan options/restricted stock awards
Outstanding at January 1, 2017		231,755		$	19.32			$	2,925		5,000		27.70
Granted		–			–				–		–	$	–
Exercised/vested and released		(11,500	)		19.09				158		–		–
Expired/cancelled		–			–				–		–		–
Outstanding at March 31, 2017		220,255		$	19.33		4.34	$	2,914		5,000	$	27.70
Exercisable/vested at March 31, 2017		220,255		$	19.33		4.34	$	2,914		–		–

The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2017 was approximately $158,000.

There were no unvested option shares outstanding under the 2015 Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2017.

As of March 31, 2017, there was no unrecognized expense related to non-vested option shares granted under the 2015 Plan.  

As of March 31, 2017, there was $12,500 total unrecognized expense related to non-vested awards of restricted shares awarded under the 2015 Plan.  The cost will be recognized over 0.09 years, the remaining vesting period for the restricted stock awards.