STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

13. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(a) Preferred stock

The Company has authorized 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, which may be issued from time to time in one or more series. The Board of Directors has the authority to issue the shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to establish the number of shares to be included in each series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The issuance of preferred stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of common stock, and may have the effect of delaying, deferring or defeating a change in control of the Company. The Company had not issued any shares of preferred stock through December 31, 2016.

(b) Common stock

The Company has 200,000,000 authorized shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of which 76,591,000 shares were issued and outstanding at December 31, 2016.

Since 2004, the Company’s Board of Directors has approved stock repurchase programs that have authorized the Company to repurchase in the aggregate up to $195 million of its common stock. On May 20, 2016, we announced that our Board of Directors extended the expiration date of the current stock repurchase program to June 30, 2017 and increased the amount of stock the Company is authorized to repurchase to $50 million between May 18, 2016 and June 30, 2017. Purchases under these programs have been made on the open market.

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016					2015					2014
(Dollars in thousands)	Shares		Amount			Shares		Amount			Shares		Amount
Prior year authorizations at January 1,			$	40,534				$	13,284				$	14,433
Authorizations				25,879					50,000					14,410
Repurchases paid		1,078,251		(27,028	)		944,398		(22,530	)		756,143		(15,264	)
Repurchases unsettled		—		—			7,836		(220	)		13,983		(295	)
Authorized dollars remaining as of December 31,			$	39,385				$	40,534				$	13,284

(c) Dividends

On May 27, 2014, the Company announced an increase in its quarterly common stock cash dividend from $0.015 to $0.03 per share, on a post-split basis. The Company declared quarterly dividends totaling $0.12 per share, $0.12 per share, and $0.105 per share, on a post-split basis, for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, the Company paid cash dividends of $9.2 million, $9.2 million, and $6.9 million, respectively. It is the Company’s current intention to pay a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per share, however, the Board of Directors may terminate or modify this dividend program at any time without notice.