FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

NOTE 7.FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value are categorized using defined hierarchical levels directly related to the amount of subjectivity associated with the inputs to fair value measurements, as follows:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable;

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs in which little or no market activity exists, requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions that market participants would use to value the asset or liability.

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, restricted cash and investments, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, debt and interest rate swap agreements. The estimated fair value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their carrying value due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

The Company estimates the fair value of its variable-rate debt using Level 2 inputs, such as interest rates, related terms and maturities of similar obligations. The fair value of the Company’s debt approximated its carrying amount as of September 30, 2015.

The Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis consisted of the following:

	September 30, 2015
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets		Other Observable Inputs		Unobservable Inputs
$s in thousands	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)		Total
Assets:
Fixed-income securities (1)	$	401	$	3,614	$	—	$	4,015
Money market funds (2)	1,758		—		—		1,758
Total	$	2,159	$	3,614	$	—	$	5,773
Liabilities:
Interest rate swap agreement (3)	$	—	$	6,199	$	—	$	6,199
Total	$	—	$	6,199	$	—	$	6,199

	December 31, 2014
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets		Other Observable Inputs		Unobservable Inputs
$s in thousands	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)		Total
Assets:
Fixed-income securities (1)	$	400	$	3,590	$	—	$	3,990
Money market funds (2)	1,739		—		—		1,739
Total	$	2,139	$	3,590	$	—	$	5,729
Liabilities:
Interest rate swap agreement (3)	$	—	$	3,136	$	—	$	3,136
Total	$	—	$	3,136	$	—	$	3,136

(1) We invest a portion of our Restricted cash and investments in fixed-income securities, including U.S. Treasury and U.S. agency securities. We measure the fair value of U.S. Treasury securities using quoted prices for identical assets in active markets. We measure the fair value of U.S. agency securities using observable market activity for similar assets. The fair value of our fixed-income securities approximates our cost basis in the investments.

(2) We invest a portion of our Restricted cash and investments in money market funds. We measure the fair value of these money market fund investments using quoted prices for identical assets in active markets.

(3) In order to manage interest rate exposure, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement in October 2014 that effectively converts a portion of our variable-rate debt to a fixed interest rate. The swap is designated as a cash flow hedge, with gains and losses deferred in other comprehensive income to be recognized as an adjustment to interest expense in the same period that the hedged interest payments affect earnings. The interest rate swap has an effective date of December 31, 2014 with an initial notional amount of $250.0 million. The fair value of the interest rate swap agreement represents the difference in the present value of cash flows calculated (i) at the contracted interest rates and (ii) at current market interest rates at the end of the period. We calculate the fair value of interest rate swap agreements quarterly based on the quoted market price for the same or similar financial instruments. The fair value of the interest rate swap agreement is included in Other long-term liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.