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Stock Based Compensation
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock Based Compensation Stock Based Compensation
The Compensation Committee of Piedmont's Board of Directors has periodically granted deferred stock award units to all of Piedmont's employees and independent directors. Most employee awards are time-vested and typically vest ratably over a multi-year period and independent director awards vest over one year.

Certain management employees' long-term equity incentive program is split equally between the time-vested award units and a multi-year performance share program whereby the actual awards are contingent upon Piedmont's total stockholder return ("TSR") relative to a peer group of office REITs' TSR. The long-term equity incentives for these certain employees, as well as the peer group, is predetermined by the Board of Directors, advised by an outside compensation consultant. Any shares earned are awarded at the end of the multi-year performance period and vest upon award. The fair values of the multi-year performance share awards are estimated using a Monte Carlo valuation method.

A rollforward of Piedmont's equity based award activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 is as follows:

SharesWeighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested and Potential Stock Awards as of December 31, 2019
1,045,020 $25.15 
Deferred Stock Awards Granted
242,586 $22.39 
Increase in Estimated Potential Share Award based on TSR Performance
26,586 $27.47 
Performance Stock Awards Vested
(153,368)$30.45 
Deferred Stock Awards Vested
(228,478)$21.05 
Deferred Stock Awards Forfeited
(6,979)$21.82 
Unvested and Potential Stock Awards as of September 30, 2020925,367 $24.07 


The following table provides additional information regarding stock award activity during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively (in thousands, except per share amounts):

Three Months EndedNine Months Ended
September 30,
2020		September 30,
2019		September 30,
2020		September 30,
2019
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per share of Deferred Stock Granted During the Period
$— $— $22.39 $21.02 
Total Grant Date Fair Value of Deferred Stock Vested During the Period
$200 $— $4,808 $8,658 
Share-based Liability Awards Paid During the Period (1)
$— $3,444 $4,116 $6,683 

(1)Amounts reflect the issuance of performance share awards related to the 2017-19 and 2016-18 Performance Share Plans during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, as well as performance share award liabilities settled in cash in July 2019 for retirement and separation associated with the senior management transition on June 30, 2019.
A detail of Piedmont’s outstanding stock awards as of September 30, 2020 is as follows:

Date of grantType of Award
Net Shares
Granted (1)
Grant
Date Fair
Value		Vesting ScheduleUnvested Shares
May 17, 2018Deferred Stock Award250,680 $17.84 
Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on May 17, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively.
52,895 
May 17, 2018Fiscal Year 2018-2020 Performance Share Program— $23.52 Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2021.200,674 
(2)
May 3, 2019Deferred Stock Award274,998 $21.04 
Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on May 3, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
134,173 
May 3, 2019Fiscal Year 2019-2021 Performance Share Program— $29.43 Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2022.181,527 
(2)
February 19, 2020Deferred Stock Award178,309 $24.41 
Of the shares granted, 25% vested on the date of grant, and 25% vested or will vest on February 19, 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.
143,973 
March 19, 2020Fiscal Year 2020-2022 Performance Share Program— $25.83 Shares awarded, if any, will vest immediately upon determination of award in 2023.166,345 
(2)
May 13, 2020Deferred Stock Award-Board of Directors45,780 $13.76 
Of the shares granted, 100% will vest by May 13, 2021.
45,780 
Total925,367 

(1)Amounts reflect the total original grant to employees and independent directors, net of shares surrendered upon vesting to satisfy required minimum tax withholding obligations through September 30, 2020.
(2)Estimated based on Piedmont's cumulative TSR for the respective performance period through September 30, 2020. Share estimates are subject to change in future periods based upon Piedmont's relative performance compared to its peer group of office REITs' TSR.

During the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, Piedmont recognized approximately $1.4 million and $3.8 million, respectively, of compensation expense related to stock awards, all of which is related to the amortization of unvested deferred shares and the fair value adjustment to performance shares. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, Piedmont recognized approximately $7.0 million and $12.0 million, respectively, of compensation expense related to stock awards of which $5.8 million and $10.5 million is related to the amortization of unvested deferred shares and the fair value adjustment to performance shares. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, a net total of 245,354 shares were issued to employees and directors. As of September 30, 2020, approximately $7.5 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 one year.