On March 31, 2021, 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 in 2015 and later 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 increase in stock-based compensation expense for the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 was primarily attributable to cash-settled SARs. The increase in cash-settled SARs compensation expense reflects an increase in the market value of Company stock during the first quarter of 2021 versus a decrease in the market value of Company stock during the first quarter of 2020.

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

(In thousands)	March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Stock options	$	3,780	$	1,993
Stock awards		8,674		5,313
SARs		8,176		4,341

The increases in unrecognized compensation costs for stock options, stock awards and SARs reflected the 2021 grants of:

	Shares
Stock options		66,134
Stock awards (at target)		41,228
SARs		142,451

The unrecognized compensation costs at March 31, 2021, 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