Employee Stock Ownership Plan

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

(7) Employee Stock Ownership Plan

The Company sponsors an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) that covers all employees who meet certain service requirements. The Company makes annual contributions to the ESOP in amounts as defined by the plan document. These contributions are used to pay debt service and purchase additional shares. Certain ESOP shares are pledged as collateral for debt. As the debt is repaid, shares are released from collateral and allocated to active employees, based on the proportion of debt service paid in the year.

In 2017, the ESOP borrowed $3.0 million payable to the Company for the purpose of purchasing shares of the Company’s common stock. A total of 295,499 shares were purchased with the loan proceeds as part of the Company’s initial stock offering. In 2021, the ESOP borrowed $3.0 million payable to the Company for the purpose of purchasing additional shares of the Company’s common stock. A total of 225,721 shares were purchased with the loan proceeds as part of the Company’s second stock offering. Total ESOP expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was approximately $86,000 and $78,000, respectively. The balance of the note payable of the ESOP was approximately $5.1 million at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. Because the source of the loan payments is contributions received by the ESOP from the Company, the related note receivable is shown as a reduction of stockholders’ equity. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, 101,000 shares had been released.