Note 14 - Incentive Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]

14

.

Incentive Plans

The Company accounts for equity awards in accordance with FASB

’s Compensation – Stock Compensation guidance which requires that all share based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, restricted stock and performance shares, be recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations over the service period based on their fair values. Fair value is determined, depending on the type of award, using either the Black-Scholes option pricing formula or the Monte Carlo method for performance shares, both of which are intended to estimate the fair value of the awards at the grant date. Fair value of restricted shares is calculated based on the price on the date of grant.

The Company recognized expense

s associated with its equity awards of

$17.8

million and

$15.3

million for the

nine

months ended

September 30, 2017

and

2016,

respectively.  As of

September 30, 2017,

the Company had

$32.8

 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock compensation granted under the Plans.  That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately

2.9

 years.