On March 31, 2020, the Company had stock options, stock awards and stock appreciation rights (SARs) outstanding under its 2011 Incentive Compensation Plan. SARs granted prior to 2015 are cash-settled, and SARs granted after 2014 are stock-settled. Stock options and SARs granted prior to 2017 generally cliff vested after two years. Starting in 2017, stock options and SARs have a three-year graded vesting feature, with one-third of the awards vesting each year. The Company has elected the straight-line method of expense attribution for the stock options and SARs with the graded vesting feature.

Compensation expense recorded for all stock options, stock awards and SARs was as follows:

The quarter-over-quarter decrease in stock-based compensation expense was primarily attributable to cash-settled SARs. The quarterly decrease in cash-settled SARs compensation expense reflects a decrease in the market value of Company stock during the first quarter of 2020 versus an increase in the first quarter of 2019.

Unrecognized compensation costs for stock options, stock awards and SARs were as follows:

(In thousands)	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Stock options	$	3,320	$	1,850
Stock awards		5,819		3,618
SARs		7,209		4,058

The increases in unrecognized compensation costs for stock options, stock awards and SARs reflected the 2020 grants of:

	Shares
Stock options		81,065
Stock awards (at target)		43,046
SARs		173,754

The unrecognized compensation costs at March 31, 2020, are expected to be recognized over weighted-average periods of 2.2 years for stock options, 2.1 years for stock awards and 2.2 years for SARs.

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended

March 31