Note 16 - Preferred Stock, Common Stock and Convertible Unit Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

16.  Preferred Stock, Common Stock and Convertible Unit Transactions:

Preferred Stock

The Company’s outstanding Preferred Stock is detailed below (in thousands, except share data and par values):

As of December 31, 2019
Class of Preferred Stock	Shares Authorized		Shares Issued and Outstanding		Liquidation Preference (in thousands)		Dividend Rate			Annual Dividend per Depositary Share		Par Value		Optional Redemption Date
Class L		10,350		9,000	$	225,000		5.125	%	$	1.28125	$	1.00	8/16/2022
Class M		10,580		10,580		264,500		5.250	%	$	1.31250	$	1.00	12/20/2022
				19,580	$	489,500

As of December 31, 2018
Class of Preferred Stock	Shares Authorized		Shares Issued and Outstanding		Liquidation Preference (in thousands)		Dividend Rate			Annual Dividend per Depositary Share		Par Value		Optional Redemption Date
Class I		18,400		7,000	$	175,000		6.000	%	$	1.50000	$	1.00	3/20/2017
Class J		9,000		9,000		225,000		5.500	%	$	1.37500	$	1.00	7/25/2017
Class K		8,050		7,000		175,000		5.625	%	$	1.40625	$	1.00	12/7/2017
Class L		10,350		9,000		225,000		5.125	%	$	1.28125	$	1.00	8/16/2022
Class M (1)		10,580		10,580		264,500		5.250	%	$	1.31250	$	1.00	12/20/2022
				42,580	$	1,064,500

(1) During January 2018, the underwriting financial institutions for the Class M issuance elected to exercise the over-allotment option and as a result, the Company issued an additional 1,380,000 Class M Depositary Shares, each representing a one-thousandth fractional interest in a share of the Company's 5.250% Class M Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value per share. The Company received net proceeds before expenses of $33.4 million from this offering.

The following Preferred Stock classes were redeemed during the year ended December 31, 2019:

Class of Preferred Stock	Redemption Date	Depositary Shares Redeemed		Redemption Price per Depositary Share		Redemption Amount (in millions)		Redemption Charges (in millions) (1)
Class J	12/31/2019		9,000,000	$	25.00	$	225.0	$	7.1
Class I	9/14/2019		7,000,000	$	25.00	$	175.0	$	5.5
Class K	9/14/2019		7,000,000	$	25.00	$	175.0	$	5.9

(1) Redemption charges resulting from the difference between the redemption amount and the carrying amount of the respective preferred stock class on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets are accounted for in accordance with the FASB’s guidance on Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity. These charges were subtracted from net income attributable to the Company to arrive at net income available to the Company’s common shareholders and used in the calculation of earnings per share.

The Company’s Preferred Stock Depositary Shares for all classes are not convertible or exchangeable for any other property or securities of the Company. 

Voting Rights - The Class L and M Preferred Stock rank pari passu as to voting rights, priority for receiving dividends and liquidation preference as set forth below.

As to any matter on which the Class L or M Preferred Stock may vote, including any actions by written consent, each share of the Class L or M Preferred Stock shall be entitled to 1,000 votes, each of which 1,000 votes may be directed separately by the holder thereof. With respect to each share of Class L or M Preferred Stock, the holder thereof may designate up to 1,000 proxies, with each such proxy having the right to vote a whole number of votes (totaling 1,000 votes per share of Class L or M Preferred Stock). As a result, each Class L or M Depositary Share is entitled to one vote.

Liquidation Rights

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Company, preferred stock holders are entitled to be paid, out of the assets of the Company legally available for distribution to its stockholders, a liquidation preference of  $25,000 per share of Class L Preferred Stock and $25,000 per share of Class M Preferred Stock ($25.00 per each Class L and Class M Depositary Share), plus an amount equal to any accrued and unpaid dividends to the date of payment, before any distribution of assets is made to holders of the Company’s common stock or any other capital stock that ranks junior to the preferred stock as to liquidation rights.

Common Stock

During September 2019, the Company established an ATM program, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell from time to time shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, with an aggregate gross sales price of up to $500.0 million through a consortium of banks acting as sales agents. Sales of the shares of common stock may be made, as needed, from time to time in “at the market” offerings as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act of 1933, including by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions on the New York Stock Exchange or otherwise (i) at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, (ii) at prices related to prevailing market prices or (iii) as otherwise agreed to with the applicable sales agent. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company issued 9,514,544 shares and received proceeds of $200.1 million, net of commissions and fees of $1.8 million. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $298.1 million available under this ATM program.

During February 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, which is effective for a term of two years, pursuant to which the Company may repurchase shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, with an aggregate gross purchase price of up to $300.0 million. The Company did not repurchase any shares under the share repurchase program during the year ended December 31, 2019.  During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company repurchased 5,100,000 shares for an aggregate purchase price of $75.1 million (weighted average price of $14.72 per share). As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $224.9 million available under this share repurchase program. During February 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an extension of this existing share repurchase program for a term of two years, which will expire in February 2022.

The Company, from time to time, repurchases shares of its common stock in amounts that offset new issuances of common stock relating to the exercise of stock options or the issuance of restricted stock awards. These repurchases may occur in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise subject to prevailing market conditions, the Company’s liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. During 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company repurchased 223,609 shares, 278,566 shares and 232,304 shares, respectively, relating to shares of common stock surrendered to the Company to satisfy statutory minimum tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting of restricted stock awards under the Company’s equity-based compensation plans.

Convertible Units

The Company has various types of convertible units that were issued in connection with the purchase of operating properties (see Footnote 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements). The amount of consideration that would be paid to unaffiliated holders of units issued from the Company’s consolidated subsidiaries which are not mandatorily redeemable, as if the termination of these consolidated subsidiaries occurred on December 31, 2019, is $13.3 million. The Company has the option to settle such redemption in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock. If the Company exercised its right to settle in common stock, the unit holders would receive 0.6 million shares of common stock.

Dividends Declared

The following table provides a summary of the dividends declared per share:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Common Stock	$	1.12000	$	1.12000	$	1.09000
Class I Depositary Shares	$	0.99583	$	1.50000	$	1.50000
Class I Depositary Shares Redeemed	$	-	$	-	$	0.96250
Class J Depositary Shares	$	1.37500	$	1.37500	$	1.37500
Class K Depositary Shares	$	0.93359	$	1.40625	$	1.40625
Class L Depositary Shares	$	1.28125	$	1.28125	$	0.48047
Class M Depositary Shares	$	1.31250	$	1.31250	$	0.04010