Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

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STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]  
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

NOTE 6.     STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

During the three months ended March 31, 2014 the Company paid $15.3 million or $0.105 per share in cash dividends compared to $13.1 million or $0.09 per share during the same period in 2013. During the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, the Company repurchased 33,429 shares from the open market of its $1 par value common stock at a weighted average price of $27.23 per share compared to no shares purchased during the same period in 2013. The Company repurchased $5.7 million of common stock for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and $4.5 million for the same period in 2013 from employees for the payment of taxes on vesting restricted shares.

 

As more fully discussed in Note 14 of the Company’s notes to the consolidated financial statements in its 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K, stock options, time lapse restricted shares (TLRS’s) and restricted stock units have been issued to officers and other management employees under the Company’s Employee Stock Incentive Plans.  The Company issues new shares from its authorized but unissued share pool. At March 31, 2014, approximately 3.6 million shares of the Company’s common stock were reserved for issuance.

 

Stock Options

 

Stock options generally vest over a five-year period and expire ten years from the issuance date. For the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company did not issue any shares of common stock under exercise of stock options by employees with 1 thousand shares issued for the same period in 2013.

 

The Company had no options activity outstanding under the Company’s stock option plan as of March 31, 2014 or December 31, 2013.

The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 was zero and $20 thousand, respectively. Exercise of options for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 resulted in cash receipts of zero and less than $10 thousand, respectively.

Time Lapse Restricted Shares and Restricted Stock Units

 

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s stock-based compensation programs recorded as expense:

 

    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
(in thousands)   2014   2013
Time lapse restricted stock:                
Pre-tax compensation expense   $ 2,765     $ 2,546  
Tax benefit     (1,065 )     (980 )
Restricted stock expense, net of tax   $ 1,700     $ 1,566  

The Company recognized a tax benefit of approximately $3.4 million and $2.7 million during the first quarters ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively related to the amortization of restricted shares which has been recorded as an increase to paid-in capital.

 

The following table summarizes information on unvested restricted stock outstanding as of March 31, 2014:

 

    Number of Shares   Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested Restricted Stock Units at December 31, 2013     2,454     $ 18.75  
Forfeited     (22 )     20.72  
Vested     (616 )     15.79  
Granted     411       28.74  
Unvested Restricted Stock Units at March 31, 2014     2,227     $ 21.40  

 

At March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company had $39.3 million and $30.7 million of total unrecognized compensation cost, respectively, related to time-lapse restricted shares that are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 4.2 years and 3.8 years, respectively.