Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS

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CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS
 
Dividends
 
On March 10, 2021, we announced a special non-recurring cash dividend of $1.00 per common share in an aggregate amount of $19.9 million that was paid on April 5, 2021, to shareholders of record on March 29, 2021. In accordance with the provisions of our 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2012 Incentive Plan”), as a result of the special dividend we are required to make the participant’s original grant whole by preventing either dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended by the original grant. The 2012 Incentive Plan provides our Compensation Committee with the discretion to meet this requirement. See further discussion in the Share-Based Compensation section of this Note.

No dividends were declared for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The declaration of dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon various factors, including our earnings, financial condition, restrictions imposed by any indebtedness that may be outstanding, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.
Share Repurchase Program

On March 10, 2021, we announced a $15.0 million common share repurchase program. The repurchases may be made from time to time as market conditions warrant and are subject to regulatory considerations. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we repurchased 439,000 shares of our common stock for $7.4 million. At December 31, 2021, the remaining balance available for repurchases under the program was $7.6 million.

Share-Based Compensation
 
During the year ended December 31, 2012, our shareholders adopted and approved the 2012 Incentive Plan. The 2012 Incentive Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalent rights, performance awards, stock awards and other stock-based awards. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has authority and discretion to determine the type of award as well as the amount, terms and conditions of each award under the 2012 Incentive Plan, subject to the limitations of the 2012 Incentive Plan. A total of 1,500,000 shares of common stock were originally authorized for the granting of awards under the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan. In 2015, our shareholders approved an amendment to the 2012 Incentive Plan, to increase the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance by 1,500,000 shares. On May 5, 2021, our shareholders approved the Amended and Restated 2012 Stock Incentive Plan, which among other amendments, increased the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance by 2,000,000 shares. The number of shares available for awards, as well as the terms of outstanding awards, are subject to adjustment as provided in the 2012 Incentive Plan for stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations and other similar events.
 
We also maintain the 2009 Incentive Plan, which was approved by shareholders in 2009. The 2009 Incentive Plan also provided for the grant of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalent rights, performance awards, stock awards and other stock-based awards. Under the 2012 Incentive Plan, any shares subject to award, or awards forfeited or reacquired by the Company issued under the 2009 Incentive Plan are available for award up to a maximum of 400,000 shares.
 
Stock Options
 
Our outstanding stock options include time-based stock options, which vest over differing periods ranging from the date of issuance up to 48 months from the option grant date; and performance-based stock options, which have already vested upon achieving operating income margins of six, eight and ten as reported in four of five consecutive quarters over the term of the options.

Stock option activity for 2021 and 2020 consisted of the following (share amounts in thousands, except for per share information):
  Number of
Shares
Weighted-Average Exercise
Price Per Share
Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Options outstanding at January 1, 2020 290  $ 11.49 
Granted —  —  $ — 
Forfeited or canceled —  —  — 
Exercised (64) 9.33  5.56 
Options outstanding at December 31, 2020 226  12.10  5.42 
Granted      
Forfeited or canceled      
Exercised (54) 12.00  6.61 
Options outstanding at December 31, 2021 172  $ 12.13  $ 5.05 
 
During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, no options to purchase shares of common stock under the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan were granted.
 
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we issued 54,000 and 64,000 shares of common stock upon the exercise of stock options at an average exercise price of $12.00 and $9.33 per share, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic values of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $0.4 million and $0.2 million, respectively. For
the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we recognized $0.2 million and $0.1 million of tax benefits from the exercise of stock options during the period, respectively.

Share-based compensation expense from time-based stock options for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, was $0, respectively. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the unrecognized share-based compensation cost related to grants described above was $0, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, there are no unvested options.
 
At December 31, 2021, the aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding and exercisable options to purchase 172,000 shares of common stock was $1.1 million. At December 31, 2020, the aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding and exercisable options to purchase 226,000 shares of common stock was $0.7 million.
 
Restricted Stock Units
 
Our outstanding restricted stock units (“RSUs”), include time-based RSUs, which vest over differing periods ranging from 12 months up to 36 months from the RSU grant date, as well as performance-based RSUs, which vest upon achieving targets relating to growth, earnings-per-share, and/or stock price levels. RSUs granted to members of the Board of Directors contain a restriction period in which the shares are not issued until two years after vesting. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were 88,000 and 82,000 vested RSUs, respectively, granted to members of the Board of Directors that had a restriction period.

Restricted stock unit activity for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is as follows: (share amounts in thousands, except per share information):
  Number of
Shares
Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Units outstanding at January 1, 2020 821  $ 7.43 
Granted 691  5.84 
Issued (301) 8.28 
Forfeited (32) 11.93 
Units outstanding at December 31, 2020 1,179  6.18 
Granted 364  13.74 
Issued (573) 6.35 
Forfeited (140) 5.72 
Units outstanding at December 31, 2021 830  $ 9.46 
 
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we granted 364,000 RSUs of common stock under the 2012 Incentive Plan to our board, executive officers and other employees, which are composed of both time-based RSUs and share-price performance-based RSUs. The time-based RSUs were granted with a weighted-average grant date fair value $18.05 per share and vest in 12 monthly installments over a one year period from the grant date or in annual installments over three year period from the grant date. The share-price performance-based RSUs were granted with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $14.14 per share and vest upon achieving share-price targets over a three year period from the grant date.
 
During the year ended December 31, 2020, we granted 691,000 RSUs of common stock under the 2012 Incentive Plan to our board, executive officers and other employees, which are composed of both time-based RSUs and share-price performance-based RSUs. The time-based RSUs were granted with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $7.68 per share and vest in 12 monthly installments over a one year period from the grant date or in annual installments over a three year period from the grant date. The share-price performance-based RSUs were granted with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $4.51 per share and vest upon achieving share-price targets over a three year period from the grant date with applicable compensation accelerated upon vesting.

Except for share-price performance-based RSUs, RSUs are valued at the market value on the date of grant, which is the grant date share price discounted for expected dividend payments during the vesting period. For RSUs with post-vesting restrictions, a Finnerty Model was utilized to calculate a valuation discount from the market value of common shares reflecting the restriction embedded in the RSUs preventing the sale of the underlying shares over a certain period of time. Using assumptions previously determined for the application of the option pricing model at the valuation date, the Finnerty Model discount for lack of marketability is 12.7 percent for a common share.
Share-price performance-based RSUs were estimated using the Monte Carlo simulation model. The Monte Carlo simulation model utilizes multiple input variables to estimate the probability that market conditions will be achieved. Our assumptions include a performance period of three years, expected volatility between 52.9 percent and 54.7 percent , and a range of risk free rates between 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent.

Share-based compensation expense related to time-based RSUs for the period ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $2.1 million and $1.9 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, and 2020, the unrecognized share-based compensation expense related to the grants described above, excluding incentive awards discussed below, was $1.6 million and $1.3 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, the remaining compensation expense is expected to be recognized over the weighted-average period of approximately 0.6 years.

Share-based compensation expense related to performance-based RSUs for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, was approximately $1.5 million and $0.9 million, respectively. Should we attain all of the metrics related to the performance-based RSU grant, we would recognize up to $2.3 million of potential share-based compensation expense. We currently expect to recognize an additional $2.3 million of that potential share-based compensation expense.

As a result of the special dividend, we issued 22,000 time-based RSUs and 26,200 performance-based RSUs that mirror the original grant time and performance-based vesting targets and requirements as dividend equivalents in order to keep the participant’s original grant whole. These awards are included in the granted share total in the table above. Because this modification was required under the provisions of our stock incentive plans, no additional share-based compensation expense was recorded.

The number of shares issued upon vesting or exercise for restricted stock units granted, pursuant to our share-based compensation plans, is net of shares withheld to cover the minimum statutory withholding requirements that we pay on behalf of our employees, which was 165,000 and 63,000 shares for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Although shares withheld are not issued, they are treated as common share repurchases for accounting purposes, as they reduce the number of shares that would have been issued upon vesting.