Equity Based Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Equity Based Plans [Abstract]

Equity Based Plans

11. Equity Based Plans

The Company has the following equity based plans with outstanding equity grants:

The Amended and Restated 1999 Employee Stock Option Plan (the “Amended 1999 Plan”) permits the Company to grant to non-employee directors and employees of the Company up to 600,000 non-qualified options to purchase shares of common stock and restricted stock (subject to proportionate adjustments in the event of stock dividends, splits, and similar corporate transactions). The exercise prices of options granted under the Amended 1999 Plan are determined by the Compensation Committee. The period within which each option will be exercisable is determined by the Compensation Committee. The Amended 1999 Plan was approved by the shareholders of the Company at the 2008 Shareholders Meeting on May 20, 2008.

The Amended and Restated 2003 Stock Option Plan (the “Amended 2003 Plan”) permits the Company to grant to key employees and outside directors of the Company incentive and non-qualified options and shares of restricted stock covering up to 2,100,000 shares of common stock (subject to proportionate adjustments in the event of stock dividends, splits, and similar corporate transactions). The material terms of the Amended 2003 Plan was reapproved by the shareholders of the Company at the 2015 Shareholders Meeting on May 19, 2015 and an increase in the number of shares authorized for issuance from 1,750,000 to 2,100,000 was approved at the 2016 Shareholders Meeting on March 17, 2016.

A cumulative summary of equity plans as of December 31, 2016 follows:

	Authorized		Restricted Stock Issued		Outstanding Stock Options		Stock Options Exercised		Stock Options Exercisable		Shares Available for Grant
Equity Plans
Amended 1999 Plan		600,000		416,402		-		139,791		-		7,775
Amended 2003 Plan		2,100,000		763,357		-		778,300		-		558,343
		2,700,000		1,179,759		-		918,091		-		566,118

During 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company granted the following shares of restricted stock to directors, officers and employees pursuant to its equity plans as follows:

Year Granted	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Fair Value Per Share
2014		159,443	$	33.29
2015		147,928	$	41.66
2016		101,790	$	51.59

During 2016, 2015 and 2014, the following shares were cancelled due to employee terminations prior to restrictions lapsing:

Year Cancelled	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Fair Value Per Share
2014		8,120	$	23.49
2015		-		-
2016		4,965	$	35.78

Generally, restrictions on the stock granted to employees lapse in equal annual installments on the following four anniversaries of the date of grant. For those shares granted to directors, the restrictions will lapse in equal quarterly installments during the first year after the date of grant. For those granted to executive officers, the restriction will lapse in equal quarterly installments during the four years following the date of grant.

As of December 31, 2016, there were 232,997 shares outstanding for which restrictions had not lapsed. The restrictions will lapse in 2017 through 2020.

Compensation expense for grants of restricted stock is recognized based on the fair value on the date of grant. Compensation expense for restricted stock grants was $4,962,000, $4,491,000 and $3,363,000, respectively, for 2016, 2015 and 2014. As of December 31, 2016, the remaining $6.7 million of compensation expense will be recognized from 2017 through 2020.