Share-Based Compensation and Other Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Share-based Compensation and Other Benefit Plans

Share-Based Compensation and Other Benefit Plans

We reserved 1,424,600 shares of Common Stock for issuance under the Penn Virginia Corporation Management Incentive Plan for future share-based compensation awards. A total of 360,615 time-vested restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and 113,592 performance restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) have been granted as of December 31, 2019.

We recognized $4.1 million, $4.6 million and $3.8 million of share-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. All of our share-based compensation awards are classified as equity instruments because they result in the issuance of common stock on the date of grant, upon exercise or are otherwise payable in common stock upon vesting, as applicable. The compensation cost attributable to these awards has been measured at the grant date and recognized over the applicable vesting periods as a non-cash item of expense.

Time-Vested Restricted Stock Units 

A restricted stock unit entitles the grantee to receive a share of common stock upon the vesting of the restricted stock unit. The grant date fair value of our time-vested restricted stock unit awards are recognized on a straight-line basis over the applicable vesting period.

The following table summarizes activity for our most recent fiscal year with respect to awarded RSUs:

	Restricted Stock Units		Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Balance at beginning of year	208,040		$	47.35
Granted	13,175		$	30.35
Vested	(74,888	)	$	39.40
Forfeited	(9,451	)	$	51.71
Balance at end of year	136,876		$	49.76

As of December 31, 2019, we had $5.0 million of unrecognized compensation cost attributable to RSUs. We expect that cost to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.1 years. The total grant-date fair values of RSUs that vested in 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $3.0 million, $3.3 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

Performance Restricted Stock Units

In the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2017, we granted 15,066 and 98,526 PRSUs, respectively to members of our management. There were no PRSUs granted for the year ended December 31, 2018. The PRSUs were issued collectively in one to three separate tranches with individual three-year performance periods beginning in January 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Vesting of the PRSUs can range from zero to 200% of the original grant based on the performance of our common stock relative to an industry index or for those granted in 2019, a peer group of companies. Due to their market condition, the PRSUs are being charged to expense using graded vesting over a maximum of five years. The fair value of each PRSU award was estimated on their grant dates using a Monte Carlo simulation with a range of $47.70 to $65.28 per PRSU for the 2017 grants and $34.02 for the 2019 grant.

The ranges for the assumptions used in the Monte Carlo model for the PRSUs granted during 2019 and 2017 are presented as follows:

	2019		2017
Expected volatility	49.9	%	59.63% to 62.18%
Dividend yield	0.0%		0.0%
Risk-free interest rate	1.66	%	1.44% to 1.51%

The following table summarizes activity for our most recent fiscal year with respect to PRSUs:

	Performance Restricted Stock Units		Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Balance at beginning of year	89,071		$	58.69
Granted	15,066		$	34.02
Vested	(3,917	)	$	63.25
Forfeited	(1,083	)	$	63.25
Expired	(19,223	)	$	62.92
Balance at end of year	79,914		$	52.73

Executive Transition and Retirement

Effective December 2, 2019, Mr. Steven A. Hartman separated from the Company. In accordance with his separation and transition agreement (“Hartman Separation Agreement”), we recorded a charge of $0.5 million for severance and other cash benefits that were paid in the first quarter of 2020. The Hartman Separation Agreement also provided for the accelerated vesting of certain share-based compensation awards for which we recognized accelerated expense of $0.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. Effective February 28, 2018, Mr. Harry Quarls retired from his position as a director and Executive Chairman of the Company. In connection with his retirement, we entered into a separation and consulting agreement (“Quarls Separation Agreement”) whereby Mr. Quarls agreed to provide transition and support services to us through

December 31, 2018. We paid Mr. Quarls $0.3 million under the Quarls Separation Agreement. The Quarls Separation Agreement included a general release of claims and provided for the accelerated vesting of certain share-based compensation awards for which we recognized accelerated expense of $0.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. The costs associated with the Hartman and Quarls Separation Agreements, including the share-based compensation charges, were included as a component of “G&A expenses” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Defined Contribution Plan

We maintain the Penn Virginia Corporation and Affiliated Companies Employees 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”), a defined contribution plan, which covers substantially all of our employees. We provide matching contributions on our employees’ elective deferral contributions up to six percent of compensation up to the maximum statutory limits. The 401(k) Plan also provides for discretionary employer contributions. The expense recognized with respect to the 401(k) Plan was $0.9 million, $0.6 million, $0.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and is included as a component of “General and administrative expenses” in our Statements of Operations. Amounts representing accrued obligations to the 401(k) Plan of $0.3 million and $0.3 million are included in the “Accounts payable and accrued expenses” caption on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Defined Benefit Pension and Postretirement Health Care Plans

We maintain unqualified legacy defined benefit pension and defined benefit postretirement health care plans which cover a limited population of former employees that retired prior to January 1, 2000. The combined expense recognized with respect to these plans was less than $0.1 million for each year ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, and is included as a component of “Other, net” in our Statements of Operations. The combined unfunded benefit obligations under these plans were $1.4 million and are included within the “Accounts payable and accrued expenses” (current portion) and “Other liabilities” (noncurrent portion) captions on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.