COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Equity [Abstract]

COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK

COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK

In May 2016, the Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company's Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock by 50%, from 95,000,000 to 142,500,000. As a result, the Company’s Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 147,500,000 shares.  The shares are classified in two classes, consisting of 142,500,000 shares of common stock, par value $.001 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.001 per share.  The board of directors is authorized to establish one or more series of preferred stock, setting forth the designation of each such series, and fixing the relative rights and preferences of each such series.  The Company has neither designated nor issued any shares of preferred stock.

Common Stock

The following is a schedule of changes in the number of shares of common stock outstanding during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and the year ended December 31, 2015:

	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016		Year Ended December 31, 2015
Beginning Balance	63,120,384		61,066,712
Restricted Stock Grants (Note 6)	1,846,777		2,112,998
Other Surrenders	(342,648	)	(57,929	)
Other	(1,594,542	)	(1,397	)
Ending Balance	63,029,971		63,120,384

2016 Activity

During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, 342,648 shares of common stock were surrendered by certain employees of the Company to cover tax obligations in connection with their restricted stock awards.  The total value of these shares was approximately $1.3 million, which is based on the market prices on the dates the shares were surrendered.

On August 15, 2016, 1,530,796 shares of common stock were forfeited in connection with the termination of the employment of the Company’s former chief executive officer. The total amount of share-based compensation expense that was reversed in connection with the termination was approximately $1.8 million.

Stock Repurchase Program

In May 2011, the Company’s board of directors approved a stock repurchase program to acquire up to $150 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock.  The stock repurchase program allows the Company to repurchase its shares from time to time in the open market, block transactions and in negotiated transactions.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015, the Company did not repurchase shares of its common stock under the stock repurchase program.  The Company’s accounting policy upon the repurchase of shares is to deduct its par value from Common Stock and to reflect any excess of cost over par value as a deduction from Additional Paid-In Capital.