Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Equity [Abstract]

Equity

Equity

Capital Stock and Equity Awards. Our authorized capital stock consists of 300 million shares, which include 250 million shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share (“common stock”) and 50 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. At September 30, 2024, the Company had 37.2 million shares of common stock issued and outstanding. Further, at September 30, 2024, the Company had 0.1 million of unvested restricted stock awards, 0.2 million shares of unvested restricted stock units, 0.1 million unvested stock options outstanding and an immaterial number of unvested performance share units.

Share Repurchase Program. In May 2023, the Company's Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved a share repurchase program (the “Program”) authorizing the Company to repurchase up to an aggregate of $75.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock with the Company’s cash on hand. The Program replaced the prior share repurchase program previously approved by the Board in August 2021 of $25.0 million. Purchases under the Program are intended to meet the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act. The Program does not require any specific number of shares to be acquired, and can be modified or discontinued by the Board at any time. The Company did not repurchase any common stock under the Program or the prior share repurchase program during the three or nine-month periods ended September 30, 2024 or 2023.

Dividends. In January 2024, the Board approved a one-time cash dividend of $1.50 per share of the Company's common stock, which was paid on February 20, 2024 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 5, 2024. The aggregate total payout was approximately $55.6 million. Additionally, in March 2024, the Board increased the on-going quarterly dividend to $0.11 per share which was paid in March, May, and August 2024. The aggregate total payout was $12.2 million. The $0.11 per share dividend is subject to quarterly approval by the Board. Dividend payments for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2024 totaled $68.2 million, which included $0.4 million of dividends on vested stock awards. Cash dividends for the nine-months ended September 30, 2023 totaled $77.8 million.

The Tax Benefits Preservation Plan. On July 1, 2020, the Board declared a dividend distribution of one right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of the Company’s common stock to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 13, 2020. On June 20, 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan to extend the expiration time of the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan from July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2026. Each Right entitles its holder, under certain circumstances, to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share, at an exercise price of $5.00 per Right, subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in the tax benefits preservation plan, dated as of July 1, 2020, as amended, between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as rights agent (and any successor rights agent, the “Rights Agent”). The Tax Benefits Preservation Plan will expire on the earliest of: (i) the time at which the Rights are redeemed pursuant to the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan, (ii) the time at which the Rights are exchanged pursuant to the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan, (iii) the closing of any merger or other acquisition transaction involving the Company pursuant to an agreement of the type described in Section 13(f) of the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan, at which time, the Rights are terminated, (iv) the time at which the Board determines that the NOLs are utilized in all material respects or that an ownership change under Section 382 would not adversely impact in any material respect the time period in which the Company could use the NOLs, or materially impair the amount of the NOLs that could be used by the Company in any particular time period, for applicable tax purposes and (v) the Close of Business on July 1, 2026. At the Company's 2024 Annual Meeting held on June 12, 2024, the Company's stockholders approved the extension of the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan to July 1, 2026.

The Company adopted the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan, as amended on March 16, 2021, and June 20, 2023, in order to protect shareholder value against a possible limitation on the Company’s ability to use its tax net operating losses (the “NOLs”) and certain other tax benefits to reduce potential future U.S. federal income tax obligations. The NOLs are a valuable asset to the Company, which may inure to the benefit of the Company and its shareholders. However, if the Company experiences an “ownership change,” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), its ability to fully utilize the NOLs and certain other tax benefits will be substantially limited and the timing of the usage of the NOLs and such other benefits could be substantially delayed, which could significantly impair the value of those assets. Generally, an “ownership change” occurs if the percentage of the Company’s stock owned by one or more of its “five-percent shareholders” (as such term is defined in Section 382 of the Code) increases by more than 50 percentage points over the lowest percentage of stock owned by such shareholder or shareholders at any time over a three-year period. The Tax Benefits Preservation Plan is intended to prevent against such an “ownership change” by deterring any person or group from acquiring beneficial ownership of 4.9% or more of the Company’s securities.