Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

15. Stock-Based Compensation

Grants of stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units, and performance share units have been, under the 2012 Plan and under the 2017 Plan, determined and administered by the compensation committee of the Board of Directors. In 2019, the Board of Directors approved a change to the structure of long-term incentive grants to remove stock options, commencing with the March 2019 equity grant. Total stock-based compensation expense was $10.6 million, $6.9 million and $5.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized using the straight-line method over the vesting period and generally vests over a three-year vesting period. Certain awards provide for accelerated vesting when the sum of an employee's age and years of service is at least 75. We recognize forfeitures as they occur. Total income tax benefit recognized for stock-based compensation arrangements was $2.2 million, $1.5 million and $1.3 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

We generally issue treasury shares for stock options and restricted stock, unless treasury shares are not available. Upon the vesting of restricted shares, we have allowed the holder to elect to surrender an amount of shares to meet their statutory tax withholding requirements. These shares are accounted for as treasury stock based upon the value of the stock on the date of vesting.

Stock Options

Stock options are accounted for as equity instruments. The fair value of each option award is estimated, based on several assumptions, on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. We did not grant any options in 2019, 2020 or 2021. We had no unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options and no unvested stock options as of December 31, 2021. The total fair value of options vested during the year ended December 31, 2021 was $0.4 million.

The following table summarizes activity under our stock option plans (shares in thousands):

	Year Ended
	December 31, 2021
		Weighted-
		Average
Stock Options	Shares	Exercise Price
Outstanding at beginning of year	268	$	30.53
Granted	—	$	—
Exercised	(198)	$	28.95
Forfeited	—	$	—
Expired	—	$	—
Outstanding at end of year	70	$	34.97
Options exercisable at end of year	70

The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $10.8 million, $3.2 million and $3.5 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we have 0.1 million options outstanding and exercisable; these options have a weighted-average exercise price of $34.97 per share, have a weighted-average remaining contractual term of 5.0 years and an aggregate intrinsic value of $4.5 million.

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at December 31, 2021 (shares in thousands):

	Options Outstanding and Exercisable
		Weighted-
	Number	Average
	Outstanding and	Remaining	Weighted-
	Exercisable at	Contractual	Average
Range of Exercise Prices	12/31/2021	Life (in years)	Exercise Price
$16.15 - $30.36	28	4.0	$	28.13
$36.25 - $54.38	42	5.7	$	39.44
$16.15 - $54.38	70	5.0	$	34.97

Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units

The following table summarizes activity under our restricted stock plans (shares in thousands):

	Year Ended
	December 31, 2021
		Weighted
		Average Grant
Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units	Shares	Date Fair Value
Unvested at beginning of year	120	$	45.21
Granted	67	$	76.73
Vested	(72)	$	54.53
Forfeited	—	$	—
Unvested at end of year	115	$	57.74

Approximately $1.5 million of compensation expense related to restricted stock and restricted stock units will be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years. The total fair value of shares vested during the year ended

December 31, 2021 was $3.9 million. The weighted-average fair value per share of restricted stock shares and units awarded during 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $76.73, $39.03 and $51.02, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value of restricted stock vested during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $5.5 million, $2.9 million and $3.5 million, respectively.

Performance Stock Units

Under the 2012 Plan and the 2017 Plan, we granted dollar-denominated performance vesting restricted stock units (“PSUs”), which cliff vest at the end of a three-year performance period. The PSUs are subject to two performance measures; 50% of the PSUs are based on the annual performance of our stock price relative to a group of our peers (total shareholder return) and 50% of the PSUs are measured based on meeting or exceeding a pre-determined annual earnings per share target as set by our Board of Directors (EPS). Depending on the Company’s performance in relation to the established performance measures, the awards may vest at zero to a maximum of 2.0 times the dollar-denominated award granted at target. Upon achievement of the necessary performance metrics, the award will be determined in dollars and may be settled in cash or stock based on the market price of the Company’s common stock at the end of the performance period, at our discretion.

Compensation expense for dollar-denominated performance units will ultimately be equal to the final dollar value awarded to the grantee upon vesting, settled either in cash or stock. However, throughout the performance period we must record and accrue expense based on an estimate of that future payout. For units determined by EPS performance, the awards are evaluated quarterly against established targets in order to estimate the liability throughout the vesting period. For units determined by total shareholder return performance, a Monte Carlo simulation model was used to estimate accruals throughout the vesting period. The model simulates our total shareholder return and compares it against our peer group over the three-year performance period to produce a predicted distribution of relative share performance. This is applied to the reward criteria to give an expected value of the total shareholder return element. The calculated fair market value as of December 31, 2021 was $10.2 million. Of this amount, $3.6 million relates to the PSUs granted in 2019 whose performance period ended December 31, 2021. These awards will be settled within the upcoming year either in cash or stock. The expense related to performance stock units for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $5.7 million, $2.7 million and $1.9 million, respectively. At the December 31, 2021 calculated fair market value, approximately $1.1 million of compensation expense related to performance stock units will be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.4 years.