Shareholders' Equity

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2016

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

Preferred Stock

The Company has 2,300,000 shares of its 8.50% Series A Preferred Stock and 2,250,000 shares of its 7.625% Series B Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2016 (collectively, the "Preferred Stock"). The Preferred Stock has no maturity and will remain outstanding indefinitely unless redeemed or otherwise repurchased or converted into common stock pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Stock. Except under certain limited circumstances intended to preserve the Company's REIT status, upon the occurrence of a change in control as defined in Article IIIA, Section 7(d) of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, or to avoid the direct or indirect imposition of a penalty tax in respect of, or to protect the tax status of, any of the Company’s real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMIC”) interests or a REMIC in which the Company may acquire an interest (as permitted by the Company’s Articles of Incorporation), the Company may not redeem the Series A Preferred Stock prior to July 31, 2017 or the Series B Preferred Stock prior to April 30, 2018. On or after these dates, at any time and from time to time, the Preferred Stock may be redeemed in whole, or in part, at the Company's option at a cash redemption price of $25.00 per share plus any accumulated and unpaid dividends. The Series A Preferred Stock pays a cumulative cash dividend equivalent to 8.50% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share each year and the Series B Preferred Stock pays a cumulative cash dividend equivalent to 7.625% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share each year. Because the Preferred Stock is redeemable only at the option of the issuer, it is classified as equity on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. The Company announced that it will pay its regular quarterly dividends on its Preferred Stock for the second quarter on July 15, 2016 to shareholders of record as of July 1, 2016.

Common Stock

The following table presents a summary of the changes in the number of common shares outstanding for the periods presented:



	Six Months Ended
	June 30,
	2016		2015
Balance as of beginning of period	49,047,335		54,739,111
Common stock issued under DRIP	12,206		9,688
Common stock issued under stock and incentive plans	214,878		263,829
Common stock forfeited for tax withholding on share-based compensation	(80,888	)	(67,296	)
Common stock repurchased during the period	(48,444	)	(860,721	)
Balance as of end of period	49,145,087		54,084,611

The Company had 7,416,520 shares of common stock that remain available to offer and sell through its sales agent, JMP Securities LLC, under its "at the market", or "ATM" program, as of June 30, 2016.

The Company's Dividend Reinvestment and Share Purchase Plan ("DRIP") allows registered shareholders to automatically reinvest some or all of their quarterly common stock dividends in shares of the Company’s common stock and provides an opportunity for investors to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, potentially at a discount to the prevailing market price. Of the 3,000,000 shares reserved for issuance under the Company's DRIP, there were 2,415,332 shares remaining for issuance as of June 30, 2016. The Company declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.21 per share payable on July 29, 2016 to shareholders of record as of July 6, 2016. There was no discount for shares purchased through the DRIP during the second quarter of 2016.

Of the $50,000 authorized by the Company's Board of Directors for the repurchase of its common stock through December 31, 2016, approximately $8,518 remains available for repurchase at the Company's option as of June 30, 2016.

2009 Stock and Incentive Plan. Of the 2,500,000 shares of common stock authorized for issuance under its 2009 Stock and Incentive Plan, the Company had 860,106 available for issuance as of June 30, 2016. Total stock-based compensation expense recognized by the Company for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 was $614 and $1,443 compared to $782 and $1,475 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015.

The following table presents a rollforward of the restricted stock activity for the periods indicated:



	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Restricted stock outstanding as of beginning of period	547,486		696,819		696,597		731,809
Restricted stock granted	46,158		32,555		214,878		263,829
Restricted stock vested	(32,555	)	(32,777	)	(350,386	)	(299,041	)
Restricted stock outstanding as of end of period	561,089		696,597		561,089		696,597

The combined grant date fair value of the restricted stock issued by the Company for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 was $300 and $1,349 compared to $250 and $2,167 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. As of June 30, 2016, the fair value of the Company’s outstanding restricted stock remaining to be amortized into compensation expense is $3,404 which will be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.7 years.

Preferred Stock