Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

9. EARNINGS PER SHARE

Earnings per share is calculated under the two-class method under which all earnings (distributed and undistributed) are allocated to each class of common stock and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive dividends. The Company grants restricted stock to certain employees under its stock-based compensation programs, which entitle recipients to receive nonforfeitable dividends during the vesting period on a basis equivalent to the dividends paid to holders of the Company's common stock, $0.01 par value; these unvested awards meet the definition of participating securities.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:




	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2024			2023
Net income	$	266,150		$	992,541
Earnings and dividends allocated to participating securities		(5,734	)		(5,264	)
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$	260,416		$	987,277
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Average number of common shares outstanding - basic		11,073,439			11,034,193
Net effect of dilutive unvested restricted stock awards included for treasury stock method		37,524			46,318
Average number of common shares outstanding - diluted		11,110,963			11,080,511
Earnings per common share
Basic	$	0.02		$	0.09
Diluted	$	0.02		$	0.09

Common stock dividends totaled $808,568 ($0.0725 per share) and $805,228 ($0.0725 per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.