STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (Tables)

The compensation cost for these plans was as follows (in thousands):

	Fiscal Year Ended
	January 28, 2017		January 30, 2016		January 31, 2015
Stock-based compensation expense by type:
Stock options	$	384	$	391	$	469
Restricted stock units		4,010		4,632		3,833
Employee stock purchases		104		105		96
Director deferred compensation		94		70		70
Total stock-based compensation expense		4,592		5,198		4,468
Income tax benefit recognized		1,655		1,895		1,645
Stock-based compensation expense, net of income tax	$	2,937	$	3,303	$	2,823

Our employee purchases of common stock and the average price per share through the ESPP were as follows:

Fiscal Year Ended	Shares Purchased		Average Price Per Share
January 28, 2017		14,890	$	28.48
January 30, 2016		12,251	$	33.40
January 31, 2015		8,882	$	42.16

The following table summarizes the restricted stock unit awards activity under all of our plans during Fiscal 2017:

	RSUs					PSUs					Totals
	Number of Awards			Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Number of Awards			Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Number of Awards			Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Restricted stock unit awards outstanding at January 30, 2016		249,525		$	53.31		88,125		$	49.42		337,650		$	52.29
Granted		118,343			35.14		45,300			35.07		163,643			35.12
PSU multiplier earned (1)		-			-		(14,950	)		52.31		(14,950	)		52.31
Vested		(55,537	)		51.25		(23,000	)		38.82		(78,537	)		47.61
Forfeited, cancelled or expired		(12,963	)		49.35		-			-		(12,963	)		49.35
Restricted stock unit awards outstanding at January 28, 2017		299,368		$	46.68		95,475		$	44.71		394,843		$	46.20

Activity for our option plans during Fiscal 2017 was as follows:

	Number of Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value ($000's)
Options outstanding at January 30, 2016		243,397		$	37.13		5.18	$	987
Granted		36,359			35.10
Exercised		(16,152	)		27.11
Forfeited, cancelled or expired		-			-
Options outstanding at January 28, 2017		263,604		$	37.47		5.11	$	963

Exercisable at January 28, 2017		263,604		$	37.47		5.11	$	963

The assumptions used in the option pricing model were as follows:

	Fiscal Year Ended
	January 28, 2017		January 30, 2016		January 31, 2015
Weighted average fair value at date of grant	$	6.98	$	9.48	$	10.78
Expected life (years)		0.25		0.25		0.25
Expected volatility		30.1% - 32.0%		32.0% - 36.2%		36.4% - 46.4%
Risk-free interest rate		0.37% - 0.68%		0.02% - 0.09%		0.04% - 0.16%
Dividend yield	None		None		None

The fair value was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions for each period:

	Quarter Ended
	April 30, 2016				July 30, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15		Mar 31		Jun 30
Exercise price	$	35.07	$	35.90	$	34.79
Weighted average fair value at date of grant	$	10.56	$	10.63	$	9.88
Expected option life (years)		4.84		4.84		4.84
Expected volatility		31.99%		32.01%		30.91%
Risk-free interest rate		1.46%		1.18%		0.99%
Dividend yield	None		None		None