STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS [Abstract]

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

NOTE L:  STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

The Company has a long-term incentive program for directors, officers and employees.  Under this program, the Company initially authorized 4,000,000 shares of Company common stock for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock awards, and retroactive stock appreciation rights.  The long-term incentive program was amended effective May 25, 2011 to authorize an additional 900,000 shares of Company common stock for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock awards, and retroactive stock appreciation rights.  As of December 31, 2011, the Company has authorization to grant up to 1,741,682 additional shares of Company common stock for these instruments.  The nonqualified (offset) stock options in its Director's Stock Balance Plan vest and become exercisable immediately and expire one year after the date the director retires or two years in the event of death.  The remaining options have a ten-year term, and vest and become exercisable on a grant-by-grant basis, ranging from immediate vesting to ratably over a five-year period.

Activity in this long-term incentive program is as follows:

	Stock Options
		Weighted-average
		Exercise Price of
	Outstanding	Shares
Outstanding at December 31, 2009	3,082,815	$20.22
Granted	352,365	19.49
Exercised	(411,507)	17.09
Forfeited	(46,781)	21.27
Outstanding at December 31, 2010	2,976,892	20.55
Granted	274,828	27.36
Exercised	(282,930)	17.97
Forfeited	(21,575)	20.58
Outstanding at December 31, 2011	2,947,215	$21.43
Exercisable at December 31, 2011	2,199,737	$21.44

The following table summarizes the information about stock options outstanding under the Company's stock option plan at December 31, 2011:

	Options outstanding			Options exercisable
Range of Exercise Price	Shares	Weighted-average Exercise Price	Weighted- average Remaining Life (years)	Shares	Weighted-average Exercise Price
$0.00 – $18.00	428,377	$16.84	4.20	428,377	$16.84
$18.001 – $23.00	1,272,667	19.64	6.48	741,585	20.12
$23.001 – $28.00	1,246,171	24.83	4.76	1,029,775	24.30
TOTAL	2,947,215	$21.43	5.42	2,199,737	$21.44

The weighted-average remaining contractual term of outstanding and exercisable stock options at December 31, 2011 is 5.4 years and 4.6 years, respectively.  The aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding and exercisable stock options at December 31, 2011 is $18.8 million and $14.0 million, respectively.

The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense related to incentive and non-qualified stock options of $1.8 million, $2.0 million and $2.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  A related income tax benefit was recognized of $0.8 million, $0.9 million and $0.8 million for the 2011, 2010 and 2009 years, respectively.  Compensation expense related to restricted stock vesting recognized in the income statement for 2011, 2010 and 2009 was approximately $2.0 million, $1.6 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

Management estimated the fair value of options granted using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.  This model was originally developed to estimate the fair value of exchange-traded equity options, which (unlike employee stock options) have no vesting period or transferability restrictions.  As a result, the Black-Scholes model is not necessarily a precise indicator of the value of an option, but it is commonly used for this purpose.  The Black-Scholes model requires several assumptions, which management developed based on historical trends and current market observations.

	2011	2010	2009
Weighted-average Fair Value of Options Granted	$6.69	$5.56	$4.66
Assumptions:
Weighted-average expected life (in years)	7.72	7.68	7.77
Future dividend yield	3.90%	3.00%	3.00%
Share price volatility	32.12%	32.03%	30.66%
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate	3.34%	3.66%	2.86%

Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to non-vested stock options totaled $2.8 million at December 31, 2011, which will be recognized as expense over the next five years.  The weighted-average period over which this unrecognized expense would be recognized is 3.0 years.  The total fair value of shares vested during 2011, 2010, and 2009 were $1.8 million, $3.3 million and $1.7 million, respectively.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, proceeds from stock option exercises totaled $5.3 million and $5.9 million, respectively, and the related tax benefits from exercise were approximately $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively.   During the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, 274,330 and 337,652 shares, respectively, were issued in connection with stock option exercise.  The total intrinsic value of options exercised during 2011, 2010 and 2009 were $2.3 million, $3.1 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

A summary of the status of the Company's unvested restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2011, and changes during the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, is presented below:

	Restricted  Shares	Weighted-average  grant date fair value
Unvested at December 31, 2009	174,008	$18.90
Awards	173,341	18.34
Forfeitures	(9,284)	18.17
Vestings	(53,479)	19.19
Unvested at December 31, 2010	284,586	18.53
Awards	54,958	27.36
Forfeitures	(9,061)	18.91
Vestings	(60,842)	19.40
Unvested at December 31, 2011	269,641	$20.12