Stock-Based Compensation

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 for a full description of our existing stock-based compensation plans. On February 15, 2023, at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our stockholders approved an amendment to our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2014 Plan) that extended the term of the 2014 Plan by five years and increased the number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2014 Plan by 600,000 shares for a total of 1,350,000 shares.

Restricted Stock Units

We issue restricted stock units (RSUs) to certain officers and key employees of the Company. The fair value of the RSUs is based on the price of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market on the grant dates. Typically, these grants vest over a three-year period from the date of issuance and are a blend of time-based and performance-based shares. The portion of the grant that is time-based typically vests over a three-year period on each anniversary of the grant date, based on continued employment. The performance-based shares vest based on the three-year earnings performance of the Company following the grant date. At June 30, 2023, there were 295,417 RSUs outstanding. The RSUs do not have voting rights but do receive dividend equivalents upon vesting which are accrued quarterly. Additionally, the shares of common stock underlying the RSUs are not considered issued and outstanding until vested and common stock is issued.

Total RSU activity (number of shares) for the nine months ended June 30, 2023 is summarized below:


	Number of Restricted Stock Units	Weighted Average Grant Value Per Share
Outstanding at September 30, 2022	239,862	$	26.11
Granted	147,100	21.26
Vested	(76,834)	29.42
Forfeited/canceled	(14,711)	38.58
Outstanding at June 30, 2023	295,417	$	22.85

During the nine months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, we recorded compensation expense of $3.4 million and $1.9 million, respectively, related to the RSUs.

Restricted Stock

Each non-employee director receives 2,400 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock annually. Fifty-percent of the restricted stock granted to each of our non-employee directors vests immediately, while the remaining fifty-percent vests on the anniversary of the grant date. Compensation expense is recognized immediately for the first fifty-percent of the restricted stock granted, while compensation expense for the remaining fifty-percent is recognized over the remaining vesting period. In February 2023, 16,800 shares of restricted stock were issued to our non-employee directors under the 2014 Non-Employee Director Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, at a price of $43.22 per share. During the nine months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, we recorded compensation expense of $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively, related to restricted stock.