DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

NOTE 8 — DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

In the normal course of business, the Company uses certain types of derivative instruments for the purpose of managing or hedging its interest rate risk. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, one of the Company’s interest rate swap agreements matured. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had four interest rate swap agreements designated as hedging instruments.

The following table summarizes the terms of the Company’s interest rate swap agreements designated as hedging instruments as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (dollar amounts in thousands):

		Outstanding Notional					Fair Value of Liabilities as of
	Balance Sheet	Amount as of		Interest	Effective	Maturity	March 31,		December 31,
	Location	March 31, 2021		Rates (1)	Dates	Dates	2021		2020
Interest Rate Swaps	Deferred rental income, derivative liabilities and other liabilities	$	273,600	2.55% to 4.50%	6/29/2016 to 5/27/2020	4/5/2021 to 3/27/2023	$	(7,622)	$	(12,308)

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(1)The interest rates consist of the underlying index swapped to a fixed rate and the applicable interest rate spread as of March 31, 2021.

Additional disclosures related to the fair value of the Company’s derivative instruments are included in Note 3 — Fair Value Measurements. The notional amount under the interest rate swap agreements is an indication of the extent of the Company’s involvement in each instrument, but does not represent exposure to credit, interest rate or market risks.

Accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative instrument depends on the intended use and designation of the derivative instrument. The Company designated the interest rate swaps as cash flow hedges in order to hedge the variability of the anticipated cash flows on its variable rate debt. The change in fair value of the derivative instruments that are designated as hedges is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss), with a portion of the amount subsequently reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on the Company’s variable rate debt. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the amount of losses reclassified from other comprehensive income (loss) as an increase to interest expense was $3.1 million and $977,000, respectively. The total unrealized gain on interest rate swaps was $61,000 as of March 31, 2021, and the total unrealized loss on interest rate swaps was $3.2 million as of December 31, 2020, which are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of stockholders’ equity. During the next 12 months, the Company estimates that $82,000 will be reclassified from other comprehensive income (loss) as an increase to interest expense. The Company includes cash flows from interest rate swap agreements in net cash flows provided by operating activities on its condensed consolidated statements of cash flows, as the Company’s accounting policy is to present cash flows from hedging instruments in the same category in its condensed consolidated statements of cash flows as the category for cash flows from the hedged items.

The Company has agreements with each of its derivative counterparties that contain provisions whereby if the Company defaults on certain of its unsecured indebtedness, the Company could also be declared in default on its derivative obligations, resulting in an acceleration of payment. If the Company had breached any of these provisions, it could have been required to settle its obligations under the agreements at their aggregate termination value, inclusive of interest payments and accrued interest, of $7.7 million as of March 31, 2021. In addition, the Company is exposed to credit risk in the event of non-performance by its derivative counterparties. The Company believes it mitigates its credit risk by entering into agreements with creditworthy counterparties. The Company records credit risk valuation adjustments on its interest rate swaps based on the credit quality of the Company and the respective counterparty. There were no termination events or events of default related to the interest rate swaps as of March 31, 2021.