Our shareholders previously approved the Lancaster Colony Corporation 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2015 Plan”). The 2015 Plan reserved 1,500,000 common shares for issuance to our employees and directors. All awards granted under this plan will be exercisable at prices not less than fair market value as of the date of the grant. The vesting period for awards granted under this plan varies as to the type of award granted, and the maximum term of these awards is seven years.

We recognize compensation expense over the requisite service period of the grant. Compensation expense is reflected in Cost of Sales or Selling, General and Administrative Expenses based on the grantees’ salaries expense classification. We record tax benefits and excess tax benefits related to stock-settled stock appreciation rights (“SSSARs”) and restricted stock awards. These excess tax benefits are included in the operating section of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. We estimate a forfeiture rate for our SSSARs and restricted stock grants based on historical experience.

We use periodic grants of SSSARs as a vehicle for rewarding certain employees with long-term incentives for their efforts in helping to create long-term shareholder value. We calculate the fair value of SSSARs grants using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Our policy is to issue shares upon SSSARs exercise from new shares that had been previously authorized.

In 2021, 2020 and 2019, we granted SSSARs to various employees under the terms of the plan. The following table summarizes information relating to these grants:


	2021			2020			2019
SSSARs granted	124			180			157
Weighted average grant date fair value per right	$	36.24		$	24.06		$	23.55
Weighted average assumptions used in fair value calculations:
Risk-free interest rate	0.51		%	1.17		%	2.43		%
Dividend yield	1.69		%	1.81		%	1.68		%
Volatility factor of the expected market price of our common stock	28.63		%	22.57		%	21.77		%
Expected life in years	4.55			4.01			3.04

For these grants, the volatility factor was estimated based on actual historical volatility of our stock for a time period equal to the term of the SSSARs. The expected average life was determined based on historical exercise experience for this type of grant. The SSSARs we grant generally vest over a 3-year period whereby one-third vests on the first anniversary of the grant date, one-third vests on the second anniversary of the grant date and one-third vests on the third anniversary of the grant date.

The following table summarizes our SSSARs compensation expense and tax benefits recorded for each of the years ended June 30:


	2021		2020		2019
Compensation expense	$	3,568	$	3,049	$	3,074
Tax benefits	$	749	$	640	$	646
Intrinsic value of exercises	$	6,187	$	6,693	$	6,008

The following table summarizes the activity relating to SSSARs granted under the plan for the year ended June 30, 2021:


	Number of Rights	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at beginning of year	539	$	142.16
Exercised	(203)	$	131.76
Granted	124	$	177.87
Forfeited	(6)	$	147.72
Outstanding at end of year	454	$	156.49	3.34	$	16,806
Exercisable and vested at end of year	160	$	142.58	2.33	$	8,155
Vested and expected to vest at end of year	439	$	156.18	3.32	$	16,392


	Outstanding				Exercisable
			Weighted Average
Grant Years	Range of Exercise Prices	Number Outstanding	Remaining Contractual Life in Years	Exercise Price	Number Exercisable	Weighted Average Exercise Price
2021	$167.18-$187.30	124	4.65	$177.87	—	$—
2020	$153.71-$154.44	165	3.64	$153.74	47	$153.73
2019	$148.18-$180.60	96	2.66	$154.82	44	$155.03
2018	$121.09-$124.29	40	1.65	$121.17	40	$121.17
2017	$135.06	29	0.65	$135.06	29	$135.06

At June 30, 2021, there was $6.7 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to SSSARs that we will recognize over a weighted-average period of 2 years.

We use periodic grants of restricted stock as a vehicle for rewarding our nonemployee directors and certain employees with long-term incentives for their efforts in helping to create long-term shareholder value.

In 2021, 2020 and 2019, we granted shares of restricted stock to various employees under the terms of the plan. The following table summarizes information relating to these grants:


	2021		2020		2019
Employees
Restricted stock granted	17		31		13
Grant date fair value	$	2,918	$	4,813	$	2,030
Weighted average grant date fair value per award	$	177.89	$	153.72	$	154.66

The restricted stock under these employee grants vests 3 years after the grant date. Under the terms of our grants, employees receive dividends on unforfeited restricted stock regardless of their vesting status.

In 2021, 2020 and 2019, we also granted shares of restricted stock to our nonemployee directors under the terms of the plan. The following table summarizes information relating to each of these grants:


	2021		2020		2019
Nonemployee directors
Restricted stock granted	4		5		4
Grant date fair value	$	774	$	760	$	760
Weighted average grant date fair value per award	$	172.89	$	155.70	$	180.16

The restricted stock under these nonemployee director grants generally vests 1 year after the grant date. All of the shares granted during 2021 are expected to vest. Dividends earned on the stock during the vesting period will be paid to the directors at the time the stock vests.

The following table summarizes our restricted stock compensation expense and tax benefits recorded for each of the years ended June 30:

The following table summarizes the activity relating to restricted stock granted under the plan for the year ended June 30, 2021:


	Number of Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested restricted stock at beginning of year	69	$	144.27
Granted	21	$	176.82
Vested	(25)	$	128.03
Forfeited	(3)	$	142.45
Unvested restricted stock at end of year	62	$	161.35

At June 30, 2021, there was $5.2 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to restricted stock that we will recognize over a weighted-average period of 2 years.