Stock Based Compensation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Stock Based Compensation

Stock Based Compensation

Deferred Stock Awards

Piedmont has granted deferred stock awards in the form of restricted stock to its employees. The awards are determined by the Compensation Committee of the board of directors of Piedmont on an annual basis and typically vest over a three-year period beginning on the grant date. In addition, Piedmont has adopted a multi-year performance share program for certain of its employees. Restricted shares are earned based on the relative performance of Piedmont's total stockholder return as compared with a predetermined peer group's total stockholder return over a three-year period. Shares are not awarded until after the end of the third year in the performance period and vest immediately upon award.

A rollforward of Piedmont's deferred stock award activity for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2013 is as follows:

	Shares		Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested Deferred Stock Awards as of December 31, 2012	318,893		$	18.41
Deferred Stock Awards Granted During Nine Months Ended September 30, 2013	161,257		$	19.47
Deferred Stock Awards Vested During Nine Months Ended September 30, 2013	(204,295	)	$	18.93
Deferred Stock Awards Forfeited During Nine Months Ended September 30, 2013	(2,862	)	$	18.55
Unvested Deferred Stock Awards as of September 30, 2013	272,993		$	18.64

The following table provides additional information regarding stock award activity during the three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively (in thousands except for per share data):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2013		September 30, 2012		September 30, 2013		September 30, 2012
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value of Shares Granted During the Period	$	—	$	17.10	$	19.47	$	17.48
Total Grant Date Fair Value of Shares Vested During the Period	$	28	$	28	$	3,867	$	5,241
Share-based Liability Awards Paid During the Period(1)	$	—	$	—	$	103	$	798

⁽¹⁾  Amounts reflect the issuance of performance share awards during the period.

A detail of Piedmont’s outstanding employee deferred stock awards as of September 30, 2013 is as follows:

Date of grant	Type of Award	Net Shares Granted (1)	Grant Date Fair Value		Vesting Schedule	Unvested Shares as of September 30, 2013
April 5, 2011	Annual Deferred Stock Award	116,116	$	19.40	Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on April 5, 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively.	37,196
April 5, 2011	Fiscal Year 2011-2013 Performance Share Program	—	$	18.27	Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2014.	—	(2)
April 4, 2012	Annual Deferred Stock Award	191,786	$	17.53	Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% will vest on April 4, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively.	116,289
April 4, 2012	Fiscal Year 2012-2014 Performance Share Program	—	$	17.42	Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2015.	—	(2)
April 2, 2013	Annual Deferred Stock Award	146,679	$	19.47	Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% will vest on April 2, 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively.	119,508
April 2, 2013	Fiscal Year 2013-2015 Performance Share Program	—	$	18.91	Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2016.	—	(2)
Total						272,993

⁽¹⁾  Amounts reflect the total grant, net of shares surrendered upon vesting to satisfy required minimum tax withholding obligations through September 30, 2013.

⁽²⁾  Estimated based on Piedmont's cumulative total stockholder return ("TSR") for the respective performance period through September 30, 2013. As of September 30, 2013, Piedmont's TSR for each of these respective plans was below threshold. Such estimates are subject to change in future periods based on both Piedmont's and its peers' stock performance and dividends paid.

During the three months endedSeptember 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, Piedmont recognized approximately $0.7 million and $0.9 million of compensation expense related to stock awards, all of which related to the amortization of nonvested shares. During the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, Piedmont recognized approximately $3.0 million and $3.1 million of compensation expense related to stock awards, of which approximately $1.8 million and $1.8 million relates to the amortization of nonvested shares, respectively. During the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2013, a total of 147,515 shares were issued to employees, directors, and officers. As of September 30, 2013, approximately $2.5 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested, annual deferred stock awards remained, which Piedmont will record in its consolidated statements of income over a weighted-average vesting period of approximately one year.