SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

3 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

12.	SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

SHARE-BASED PLANS

As of June 30, 2023, we had share-based awards outstanding under the following plans: (1) the 2017 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2017 Director LTIP”), (2) the 2012 Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2012 Employee LTIP”), and (3) the 2021 Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2021 Employee LTIP”).

The 2021 Employee LTIP was approved by our shareholders on September 16, 2021, and became effective October 1, 2021. The 2021 Employee LTIP replaced the 2012 Employee LTIP that had previously been approved by our stockholders on September 13, 2012. Beginning September 16, 2021, we permanently ceased issuing any additional shares under the 2012 Employee LTIP.

These share-based plans define fair market value as the closing sales price of a share of common stock as quoted on any established stock exchange for such date or the most recent trading day preceding such date if there were no trades on such date.

RESTRICTED STOCK ACTIVITY

For the three months ended June 30, 2023, we granted 862 shares under the 2017 Director LTIP, and 152,865 restricted shares under the 2021 Employee LTIP. For the three months ended June 30, 2022, we granted 774 shares under the 2017 Director LTIP, and 138,643 restricted shares under the 2021 Employee LTIP.

The following table provides a summary of the non-vested restricted shares for the three months ended June 30, 2023:

	Number of Shares			Weighted Average Grant-date Fair Value

Nonvested April 1, 2023		314,860		$	49.57
Granted		153,727		$	55.88
Vested		(152,477	)	$	46.10
Forfeited		(961	)	$	54.89
Nonvested June 30, 2023		315,149		$	54.31

EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

On September 15, 2022, our stockholders approved the 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) through which eligible employees may purchase up to an aggregate of 2.50 million shares of our stock at 6-month intervals at a discount off the lesser of the closing market price on the first or the last trading day of each offering period. Our inaugural offering period under the ESPP was January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023. During the three months ended June 30, 2023, we issued 36,697 shares at a price of $38.10 per share under the ESPP. As of June 30, 2023, there were 2.46 million shares remaining under the ESPP.

COMPENSATION EXPENSE

The following table provides a summary of our total share-based compensation expense, including for restricted stock awards and our ESPP, and the related income tax benefit for the three months ended June 30, 2023, and 2022 (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,
	2023			2022

Equity-based compensation expense	$	2,205		$	1,773
Income tax benefit		(600	)		(496	)

We recognized the income tax benefit as a reduction to our provision for income taxes. As of June 30, 2023, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock was $16.2 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 36 months.

We also provide our employees with a contributory 401(k) profit sharing plan, to which we may contribute from time to time at our sole discretion. Employer contributions to the plan are always fully vested. Our estimated contribution expense to the plan for the three months ended June 30, 2023, and 2022, was $1.4 million and $1.1 million, respectively.