Stock Based Compensation

Deferred Stock Awards

From time to time, Piedmont has granted deferred stock awards to its employees. The awards are determined by the Compensation Committee of the board of directors of Piedmont and typically vest ratably over a multi-year period. In addition, Piedmont has adopted a multi-year performance share program for certain of its employees whereby shares may be earned based on the relative performance of Piedmont's total stockholder return as compared with a predetermined peer group's total stockholder return over the same multi-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 six months ended June 30, 2014 is as follows:



	Shares		Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested Deferred Stock Awards as of December 31, 2013	265,139		$	18.65
Deferred Stock Awards Granted During Six Months Ended June 30, 2014	292,318		$	17.78
Adjustment to Estimated Future Grants of Performance Share Awards During Six Months Ended June 30, 2014	103,479		$	20.73
Deferred Stock Awards Vested During Six Months Ended June 30, 2014	(171,468	)	$	18.63
Deferred Stock Awards Forfeited During Six Months Ended June 30, 2014	(2,530	)	$	18.75
Unvested Deferred Stock Awards as of June 30, 2014	486,938		$	18.58

The following table provides additional information regarding stock award activity during the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively (in thousands except for per share data):



	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2014		June 30, 2013		June 30, 2014		June 30, 2013
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value of Shares Granted During the Period	$	18.51	$	19.47	$	17.78	$	19.47
Total Grant Date Fair Value of Shares Vested During the Period	$	3,191	$	3,839	$	3,195	$	3,839
Share-based Liability Awards Paid During the Period⁽¹⁾	$	—	$	103	$	—	$	103


⁽¹⁾	Amount reflects the issuance of performance share awards during the period.

A detail of Piedmont’s outstanding employee deferred stock awards as of June 30, 2014 is as follows:



Date of grant	Type of Award	Net Shares Granted ⁽¹⁾	Grant Date Fair Value		Vesting Schedule	Unvested Shares as of June 30, 2014
April 4, 2012	Deferred Stock Award	171,346	$	17.53	Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on April 4, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively.	61,290
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	Deferred Stock Award	132,857	$	19.47	Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on April 2, 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively.	77,806
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⁾
January 3, 2014	Deferred Stock Award	103,345	$	16.45	Of the shares granted, 20% will vest on January 3, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.	103,345
May 9, 2014	Deferred Stock Award	170,896	$	18.51	Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on May 9, 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively.	141,018
May 9, 2014	Fiscal Year 2014-2016 Performance Share Program	—	$	20.73	Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2017.	103,479	⁽²⁾
Total						486,938


⁽¹⁾	Amounts reflect the total grant, net of shares surrendered upon vesting to satisfy required minimum tax withholding obligations through June 30, 2014.


⁽²⁾	Estimated based on Piedmont's cumulative total stockholder return ("TSR") for the respective performance period through June 30, 2014. 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 ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, Piedmont recognized approximately $2.5 million and $1.7 million of compensation expense related to deferred stock awards, of which $1.1 million and $0.5 million related to the amortization of unvested shares, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, Piedmont recognized approximately $3.1 million and $2.3 million of compensation expense related to stock awards, of which $1.7 million and $1.1 million related to the amortization of unvested shares, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2014, a net total of 130,828 shares were issued to employees, directors, and officers. As of June 30, 2014, approximately $4.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested deferred stock awards remained, which Piedmont will record in its consolidated statements of income over a weighted-average vesting period of approximately two years.