EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period increased to include the number of additional shares of common stock that would have been outstanding if the potentially dilutive securities had been issued. Stock options, restricted stock and RSUs that are anti-dilutive are excluded from the computation of weighted average shares outstanding.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share of common stock as follows:



	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Numerator for basic and diluted earnings per share:
Net income	$	240,256	$	72,760	$	99,266
Numerator for basic and diluted earnings per share	$	240,256	$	72,760	$	99,266

Denominator:
Weighted average common shares for basic earnings per share	53,622,989		52,077,011		50,309,362
Net effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards	3,049,687		2,907,162		2,906,030
Weighted average common shares for diluted earnings per share	56,672,676		54,984,173		53,215,392

Net Income per share:
Basic	$	4.48	$	1.40	$	1.97
Diluted	$	4.24	$	1.32	$	1.87

Weighted average common shares considered anti-dilutive and not included in computing diluted earnings per share were 138,639, 883,350 and 2,324,667 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.