Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

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STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]  
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

NOTE 6.      STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

During the nine months ended September 30, 2015 the Company paid $52.4 million or $0.24 per share in cash dividends compared to $45.9 million or $0.21 per share during the same period in 2014.

 

During the third quarter ended September 30, 2015, the Company did not repurchase from the open market any of its $1 par value common stock compared to 1.2 million shares purchased at a weighted average price of $19.41 during the same period in 2014. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2015, the Company repurchased from the open market approximately 19 thousand shares of its $1 par value common stock at a weighted average price of $22.42 per share compared to 1.5 million shares purchased at a weighted average price of $19.46 during the same period in 2014.

 

The Company did not repurchase any of its common stock for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015 compared to $0.1 million purchased during the same period in 2014 and repurchased $7.0 million and $6.2 million of common stock for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, 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 2014 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 September 30, 2015, approximately 5.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock were reserved for issuance.

 

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   Nine Months Ended
    September 30,   September 30,
(in thousands)   2015   2014   2015   2014
Time lapse restricted stock:                                
Pre-tax compensation expense   $ 3,255     $ 2,587     $ 9,374     $ 7,954  
Tax benefit     (1,260 )     (996 )     (3,628 )     (3,062 )
Restricted stock expense, net of tax   $ 1,995     $ 1,591     $ 5,746     $ 4,892  

 

The Company recognized a deferred tax benefit of approximately $0.1 million during the third quarters ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 respectively. The Company recognized a deferred tax benefit of approximately $1.8 million and $4.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and recognized a deferred tax benefit of approximately $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2014 related to the vesting of restricted shares which have been recorded as increases to paid-in capital.

The following table summarizes information on unvested restricted stock outstanding as of September 30, 2015:      

 

    Number of Shares   Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested Restricted Stock Units at December 31, 2014     3,100     $ 14.44  
Forfeited     (48 )     14.85  
Vested     (946 )     12.04  
Granted     682       22.43  
Unvested Restricted Stock Units at September 30, 2015     2,788     $ 17.20  

 

At September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had $34.6 million and $29.4 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 4.0 years and 3.7 years, respectively.