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Stock-Based Incentive Plan
6 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]  
Stock-Based Incentive Plan
Stock-Based Incentive Plan
 
Under the terms of the Evolution Petroleum Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Plan (the "Plan"), we have granted option awards to purchase common stock (the "Stock Options"), restricted common stock awards ("Restricted Stock"), contingent restricted common stock awards ("Contingent Restricted Stock") and/or unrestricted fully vested common stock, to employees, directors, and consultants of the Company. The Plan authorizes the issuance of 6,500,000 shares of common stock prior to its expiration on October 24, 2017 and 257,188 shares remain available for grant as of December 31, 2015.
 
Stock Options

No Stock Options have been granted since August 2008 and all compensation costs attributable to Stock Options have been recognized in prior periods. The following summary presents information regarding outstanding Stock Options as of December 31, 2015, and the changes during the period:
 
Number of Stock
Options
and Incentive
Warrants
 
Weighted Average
Exercise Price
 
Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
(1)
 
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (in
years)
Stock Options outstanding at July 1, 2015
91,061

 
$
2.50

 
 

 
 
Expired
(5,830
)
 
4.02

 
 
 
 
   Stock Options outstanding at December 31, 2015
85,231

 
2.40

 
$
205,305

 
0.9
   Vested and exercisable at December 31, 2015
85,231

 
$
2.40

 
$
205,305

 
0.9
(1) Based upon the difference between the market price of our common stock on the last trading date of the period ($4.81 as of December 31, 2015) and the Stock Option exercise price of in-the-money Stock Options.

Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock

Prior to August 28, 2014, all Restricted Stock grants contained a four-year vesting period based solely on service. Restricted Stock which vests based solely on service is valued at the fair market value on the date of grant and amortized over the service period.

In August 2014 and in December 2015, the Company awarded grants of both Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock as part of its long-term incentive plan. Such grants, which expire after four years if unvested, contain service-based, performance-based and market-based vesting provisions. The common shares underlying the Restricted Stock grants were issued on the date of grant, whereas the Contingent Restricted Stock will be issued only upon the attainment of specified performance-based or market-based vesting provisions.

Performance-based grants vest upon the attainment of earnings, revenue and other operational goals and require that the recipient remain an employee of the Company through the vesting date. The Company recognizes compensation expense for performance-based awards ratably over the expected vesting period based on the grant date fair value when it is deemed probable, for accounting purposes, that the performance criteria will be achieved. The expected vesting period may be deemed to be shorter than the four- year term. As of December 31, 2015, certain performance-based awards were not considered probable of vesting for accounting purposes and no compensation expense has been recognized with regard to these awards. If these awards are later determined to be probable of vesting, cumulative compensation expense would be recorded at that time and amortization would continue over the remaining expected vesting period.

Market-based awards entitle employees to vest in a fixed number of shares when the three-year trailing total return on the Company’s common stock exceeds the corresponding total returns of various quartiles of companies comprising the SIG Exploration and Production Index (NASDAQ EPX) during defined measurement periods. The fair value and expected vesting period of these awards were determined using a Monte Carlo simulation based on the historical volatility of the Company's total return compared to the historical volatilities of the other companies in the index. During the six months ended December 30, 2015, we granted market-based awards with fair values ranging from $2.93 to $5.07, all with an expected vesting period of 3.83 years, based on the various quartiles of comparative market performance.  During fiscal year 2015, we had granted market-based awards with fair values ranging from $4.26 to $8.40 and with expected vesting periods of 3.30 years to 2.55 years, based on the various quartiles of comparative market performance. Compensation expense for market-based awards is recognized over the expected vesting period using the straight-line method, so long as the award holder remains an employee of the Company. Total compensation expense is based on the fair value of the awards at the date of grant and is independent of vesting or expiration of the awards, except for termination of service.

Unvested Restricted Stock awards at December 31, 2015 consisted of the following:
Award Type
 
Number of
Restricted
Shares
 
Weighted
Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value
Service-based awards
 
214,269

 
7.50

Performance-based awards
 
120,386

 
7.92

Market-based awards
 
93,254

 
5.50

Unvested at December 31, 2015
 
427,909

 
$
7.18


The following table sets forth the Restricted Stock transactions for the six months ended December 31, 2015:
 
Number of
Restricted
Shares
 
Weighted
Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value
 
Unamortized Compensation Expense at December 31, 2015 (1)
 
Weighted Average Remaining Amortization Period (Years)
Unvested at July 1, 2015
262,227

 
$
9.37

 
 
 
 
Service-based shares granted
142,594

 
6.09

 
 
 
 
Performance-based shares granted
64,752

 
6.09

 
 
 
 
Market-based shares granted
64,752

 
4.58

 
 
 
 
Vested
(74,949
)
 
8.62

 
 
 
 
Forfeited
(31,467
)
 
9.39

 
 
 
 
Unvested at December 31, 2015
427,909

 
$
7.18

 
$
2,298,812

 
2.9

(1) Excludes $559,121 of potential future compensation expense for performance-based awards for which vesting is not considered probable at this time for accounting purposes.
Unvested Contingent Restricted Stock awards at December 31, 2015 consisted of the following:
Award Type
 
Number of
Contingent
Restricted
Shares
 
Weighted
Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value
Performance-based awards
 
60,196

 
$
7.92

Market-based awards
 
46,630

 
3.34

Unvested at December 31, 2015
 
106,826

 
$
5.92


The following table sets forth Contingent Restricted Stock transactions for the six months ended December 31, 2015:
 
Number of
Contingent
Restricted
Shares
 
Weighted
Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value
 
Unamortized Compensation Expense at December 31, 2015 (1)
 
Weighted Average Remaining Amortization Period (Years)
Unvested at July 1, 2015
56,286

 
$
8.20

 
 
 
 
Performance-based awards granted
32,376

 
6.09

 
 
 
 
Market-based awards granted
32,376

 
2.93

 
 
 
 
Forfeited
(14,212
)
 
8.54

 
 
 
 
Unvested at December 31, 2015
106,826

 
$
5.92

 
$
128,898

 
3.2
(1) Excludes $476,761 of potential future compensation expense for performance-based awards for which vesting is not considered probable at this time for accounting purposes.
Stock-based compensation expense related to Restricted Stock and contingent Restricted Stock grants for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 was $272,063 and $245,020, respectively. For the six months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, this expense was $490,178 and $488,357, respectively.