STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Equity [Abstract]

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

NOTE 10 — STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

In August 2014, Trans Energy issued 400,000 shares of common stock to William F. Woodburn, a related party, for the exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In August 2014, Trans Energy issued 190,000 shares of common stock to Loren E. Bagley, a related party, for the exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In August 2014, Trans Energy issued 75,000 shares of common stock to Mark D. Woodburn, a related party, for the exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In August 2014, Trans Energy issued 10,000 shares of common stock to Brett Greene, a related party, for the exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In August 2014, Trans Energy issued 20,998 shares of common stock to Jordan Corp, a related party, in a cashless exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In August 2014, Trans Energy issued 62,963 shares of common stock to John G. Corp, a related party, in a cashless exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In April 2014, we granted 21,000 shares of stock to three employees under the long-term incentive bonus program. The 21,000 shares are not performance based and vest semi-annually over a three year period. The 21,000 shares were valued at $3.80 per share of common stock using the fair value of the common stock at the date of grant and the fair value will be amortized to compensation expense semi-annually over three years.

In April 2014, we also granted 252,000 common stock options to six employees and five outside board members. These options vest semi-annually over three years and have a five year term. These stock options were granted at an exercise price of $3.80 per common share and the fair value was determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model. The options are being amortized to share-based compensation expense semi-annually over the vesting period.

In January 2014, Trans Energy issued 25,000 shares of common stock to Jonathan J. Corp, a related party, for the exercise of options at a price of $0.65 per share.

In January 2014, Trans Energy issued 138,331 shares of common stock to Clarence E. Smith, a 5% Beneficial owner, for the exercise of options at a price of $1.50 per share.

In December 2013, Trans Energy granted 9,000 shares of common stock to eleven employees. These shares vest immediately and the shares were valued using the fair market value of the common stock at the date of grant. During 2013, we recorded $25,650 of share-based compensation expense related to these shares.

In November 2013, Trans Energy issued 37,500 shares of common stock to Opco related to their settlement agreement.

In May 2013, we also granted 100,000 common stock options to an outside board member. These options vest semi-annually over three years and have a five year term. These stock options were granted at an exercise price of $3.00 per common share and the fair value was determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model. The options are being amortized to share-based compensation expense semi-annually over the vesting period.

In February 2013, we granted 42,000 shares of stock to five employees under the long-term incentive bonus program. Of the 42,000 shares, 36,000 shares are not performance based and vest semi-annually over a three year period and 6,000 shares are performance based and vest semi-annually over a three year period, subject to ongoing employment. The 42,000 shares were valued at $2.50 per share of common stock using the fair value of the common stock at the date of grant and the fair value will be amortized to compensation expense semi-annually over three years.

In February 2013, we also granted 346,000 common stock options to seven employees and five outside board members. These options vest semi-annually over three years and have a five year term. These stock options were granted at an exercise price of $2.50 per common share and the fair value was determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model. The options are being amortized to share-based compensation expense semi-annually over the vesting period. Of the 346,000 options granted, 12,000 of the options are performance based.

The Company has computed the fair value of all options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. In order to calculate the fair value of the options, certain assumptions are made regarding components of the model, including the estimated fair value of the underlying common stock, risk-free interest rate, volatility, expected dividend yield and expected option life. Changes to the assumptions could cause significant adjustments to valuation. The Company estimated a volatility factor utilizing a weighted average of comparable published volatilities of peer companies. The Company has estimated a forfeiture rate of zero as the effect of forfeitures has not been significant and the small number of option holders does not provide a reasonable basis for prediction. The Company estimates the expected term based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term of the options. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of the grant for treasury securities of similar maturity. The fair value of all options granted by the Company for 2011 through 2014 was determined using the following assumptions:

Expected volatility	70% - 90%
Risk free interest rate	0.80% - 1.75%
Expected term (years)	3.0 - 5.0
Dividend yield	0%

As a result of the above stock and option transactions, we recorded total stock-based compensation of $214,906 and $283,892 for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively and $698,122 and $919,755 for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Stock option activity is as follows:

	Number of Options			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life		Aggregate Fair Value
Outstanding December 31, 2012		3,640,324		$	1.76		2.69 Years	$	6,406,970
Granted		446,000		$	2.61
Exercised		(30,500	)	$	2.67
Forfeited		(10,500	)	$	2.35
Expired		—			—
Outstanding December 31, 2013		4,045,324		$	1.85		2.05 Years	$	7,483,849
Granted		252,000		$	3.80
Exercised		(938,331	)	$	0.78
Forfeited		(14,000	)	$	2.43
Expired		—			—
Outstanding September 30, 2014		3,344,993		$	2.01		1.79 Years	$	6,723,438
Exercisable at September 30, 2014		3,023,329		$	2.09			$	6,318,758
Unvested at September 30, 2014		321,664