NOTE 21 – Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)

Basic EPS is computed by dividing earnings available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that then shared in the earnings of the entity. Diluted earnings per share include dilutive stock options and stock units under the treasury stock method.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands, except per share data):

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Net income	$	66,536	$	17,814	$	184,859	$	54,640
Preferred dividends		2,343		1,563		7,031		1,563
Net income available to common shareholders	$	64,193	$	16,251	$	177,828	$	53,077
Shares for basic and diluted calculation:
Average shares used in basic computation		68,522		66,482		68,488		66,950
Dilutive effect of stock options and units ⁽¹⁾		12,359		11,062		12,074		9,662
Average shares used in diluted computation		80,881		77,544		80,562		76,612
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$	0.94	$	0.24	$	2.60	$	0.79
Diluted	$	0.79	$	0.21	$	2.21	$	0.69

⁽¹⁾	Diluted earnings per share is computed on the basis of the weighted-average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method.

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the anti-dilutive effect from restricted stock units was immaterial.

Cash Dividends

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, we declared and paid a cash dividend of $0.10 per common share. There were no dividends declared or paid during 2016.