Stockholders' Equity of the Company

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity of the Company

Stockholders’ Equity of the Company

Common Stock

At-The-Market Stock Offering Programs

Under our current at-the-market stock offering program, which commenced in December 2014, we may offer and sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $300.0 million from time to time in “at-the-market” offerings. Since commencement of the program through December 31, 2016, we have sold 2,459,165 shares of common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of $182.4 million. As of December 31, 2016, shares of common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $117.6 million remain available to be sold under this program. Actual future sales will depend upon a variety of factors, including but not limited to market conditions, the trading price of the Company’s common stock and our capital needs. We have no obligation to sell the remaining shares available for sale under this program.

The following table sets forth information regarding sales of our common stock under our at-the-market offering programs for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
	(in millions, except share data)
Shares of common stock sold during the period	451,398		1,866,267		1,599,123
Aggregate gross proceeds	$	32.3	$	140.1	$	104.7
Aggregate net proceeds after selling commissions	$	31.9	$	138.2	$	103.1

The proceeds from sales were used to fund acquisitions, development expenditures and general corporate purposes including repayment of borrowings under the unsecured revolving credit facility.

Common Stock Issuance

In July 2015, the Company completed the sale and issuance of 3,733,766 shares of its common stock at a price of $66.19 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $249.8 million and aggregate net proceeds after offering costs of $249.6 million through a registered direct placement with an institutional investor.

In October 2014, the Company issued 351,476 shares of its common stock valued at approximately $21.6 million to partially fund a development acquisition (see Note 3 “Acquisitions” for additional information).

Common Stock Repurchases

On February 23, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a 4,000,000 share increase to the Company’s existing share repurchase program bringing the total current repurchase authorization to 4,988,025 shares. In March 2016, the Company repurchased 52,199 shares of common stock at a weighted average price of $55.45 per share of common stock for $2.9 million. As of December 31, 2016, 4,935,826 shares remain eligible for repurchase under the Company’s share repurchase program. The Company did not repurchase shares of common stock under this program during the years ended December 31, 2015 or 2014.

Accrued Dividends and Distributions

On December 13, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $1.90 per share of common stock and a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.375 per share of common stock payable on January 13, 2017 to stockholders of record on December 30, 2016.

The following tables summarize accrued dividends and distributions for the noted outstanding shares of common stock, preferred stock, and noncontrolling units as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:

	December 31,
	2016		2015
	(in thousands)
Dividends and Distributions payable to:
Common stockholders	$	212,074	$	32,291
Noncontrolling common unitholders of the Operating Partnership	5,418		618
RSU holders (1)	3,158		427
Total accrued dividends and distribution to common stockholders and noncontrolling unitholders	220,650		33,336
Preferred stockholders	1,656		1,656
Total accrued dividends and distributions	$	222,306	$	34,992

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(1) The amount includes the value of the dividend equivalents that will be paid with additional RSUs (see Note 15 “Share-Based Compensation” for additional information).

	December 31,
	2016	2015
Outstanding Shares and Units:
Common stock (1)	93,219,439	92,258,690
Noncontrolling common units	2,381,543	1,764,775
RSUs (2)	1,395,189	1,269,809
Series G Preferred stock	4,000,000	4,000,000
Series H Preferred stock	4,000,000	4,000,000

______________________

(1) The amount includes nonvested shares.

(2) The amount includes nonvested RSUs. Does not include the 659,051 and 425,452 market measure-based RSUs because not all the necessary performance conditions have been met as of December 31, 2016 and2015, respectively.

6.875% Series G and 6.375% Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock

The Company has the option to redeem the 4,000,000 shares of its 6.875% Series G Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock ("Series G Preferred Stock") and the 4,000,000 shares of its 6.375% Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock ("Series H Preferred Stock"), on or after March 27, 2017 and August 15, 2017, respectively, in whole or in part at any time or from time to time, by payment of $25.00 per share in cash, totaling $200.0 million plus any accumulated, accrued and unpaid distributions through the date of redemption. Depending on various factors, including but not limited to market conditions, we may redeem all or part of the outstanding Series G and Series H Preferred Stock on or after their stated redemption dates. Upon redemption of all outstanding Series G and Series H Preferred Stock, we would incur an associated non-cash charge of $7.6 million as a reduction to net income available to common stockholders for the related original issuance costs.