Stock Compensation Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Stock Compensation Plans

Stock Compensation Plans

Note 20:      Stock Compensation Plans

The Company established the 2003 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the “2003 Plan”) for employees and directors of the Company and its subsidiaries. Under the plan, stock options or other awards could be granted with respect to 598,224 shares of common stock. On May 15, 2013, the Company’s stockholders approved the Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2013 Plan”). Upon the stockholders’ approval of the 2013 Plan, the Company’s 2003 Plan was frozen. As a result, no new stock options or other awards may be granted under the 2003 Plan; however, existing outstanding awards under the 2003 Plan were not affected. At December 31, 2021, 14,603 options were outstanding under the 2003 Plan.

The Company established the 2013 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the “2013 Plan”) for employees and directors of the Company and its subsidiaries. Under the plan, stock options or other awards could be granted with respect to 700,000 shares of common stock. On May 9, 2018, the Company’s stockholders approved the Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”). Upon the stockholders’ approval of the 2018 Plan, the Company’s 2013 Plan was frozen. As a result, no new stock options or other awards may be granted under the 2013 Plan; however, existing outstanding awards under the 2013 Plan were not affected. At December 31, 2021, 319,563 options were outstanding under the 2013 Plan.

The 2018 Plan provides for the grant from time to time to directors, emeritus directors, officers, employees and advisory directors of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares and performance units. The number of shares of Common Stock available for awards under the 2018 Plan is 800,000 (the “2018 Plan Limit”). Shares utilized for awards other than stock options and stock appreciation rights will be counted against the 2018 Plan Limit on a 2.5-to-1 basis. At December 31, 2021, 699,137 options were outstanding under the 2018 Plan.

Stock options may be either incentive stock options or nonqualified stock options, and the option price must be at least equal to the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Options generally are granted for a 10-year term and generally become exercisable in four cumulative annual installments of 25% commencing two years from the date of grant. The Stock Option Committee may accelerate a participant’s right to purchase shares under the plan.

Stock awards may be granted to key officers and employees upon terms and conditions determined solely at the discretion of the Stock Option Committee.

The table below summarizes transactions under the Company’s stock compensation plans, all of which related to stock options granted under such plans:

		Shares	Weighted
	Available	Under	Average
	to Grant	Option	Exercise Price
Balance, January 1, 2019	614,850	773,236	$	43.886
Granted from 2018 Plan	(186,400)	186,400		60.086
Exercised	—	(125,894)		33.031
Forfeited from terminated plan(s)	—	(17,424)		44.163
Forfeited from current plan(s)	8,450	(8,450)		55.000
Balance, December 31, 2019	436,900	807,868		49.139
Granted from 2018 Plan	(196,350)	196,350		41.740
Exercised	—	(21,436)		33.805
Forfeited from terminated plan(s)	—	(6,875)		38.849
Forfeited from current plan(s)	4,800	(4,800)		57.513
Balance, December 31, 2020	245,350	971,107		48.079
Granted from 2018 Plan	(202,700)	202,700		57.980
Exercised	—	(91,285)		40.532
Forfeited from terminated plan(s)	—	(5,197)		44.563
Forfeited from current plan(s)	44,022	(44,022)		52.256
Balance, December 31, 2021	86,672	1,033,303	$	50.528

The Company’s stock option grants contain terms that provide for a graded vesting schedule whereby portions of the options vest in increments over the requisite service period. These options typically vest one-fourth at the end of years two, three, four and five from the grant date. As provided for under FASB ASC 718, the Company has elected to recognize compensation expense for options with graded vesting schedules on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for the entire option grant. In addition, ASC 718 requires companies to recognize compensation expense based on the estimated number of stock options for which service is expected to be rendered. The Company’s historical forfeitures of its share-based awards have not been significant. Forfeitures are estimated annually based on historical information.

The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:

	2021			2020			2019
Expected dividends per share	$	1.44		$	1.36		$	1.36
Risk-free interest rate		1.24	%		0.35	%		1.59	%
Expected life of options		5 years			5 years			5 years
Expected volatility		28.33	%		29.32	%		25.15	%
Weighted average fair value of options granted during year	$	11.56		$	7.30		$	11.20

Expected volatilities are based on the historical volatility of the Company’s stock, based on the monthly closing stock price. The expected life of options granted is based on actual historical exercise behavior of all employees and directors and approximates the graded vesting period of the options. Expected dividends are based on the annualized dividends declared at the time of the option grant. The risk-free interest rate is based on the five-year treasury rate on the grant date of the options.

The following table presents the activity related to options under all plans for the year ended December 31, 2021:

			Weighted
		Weighted	Average
		Average	Remaining
		Exercise	Contractual
	Options	Price	Term
Options outstanding, January 1, 2021	971,107	48.079	7.23 years
Granted	202,700	57.980
Exercised	(91,285)	40.532
Forfeited	(49,219)	51.444
Options outstanding, December 31, 2021	1,033,303	50.528	7.05 years
Options exercisable, December 31, 2021	421,347	46.804	4.87 years

For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, options granted were 202,700, 196,350, and 186,400, respectively. The total intrinsic value (amount by which the fair value of the underlying stock exceeds the exercise price of an option on exercise date) of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, was $1.4 million, $371,000 and $3.1 million, respectively. Cash received from the exercise of options for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, was $3.7 million, $661,000 and $4.2 million, respectively. The actual tax benefit realized for the tax deductions from option exercises totaled $1.2 million, $257,000 and $2.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options outstanding at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, was $9.2 million, $4.5 million and $11.5 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercisable at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, was $5.3 million, $2.9 million and $6.6 million, respectively.

The following table presents the activity related to nonvested options under all plans for the year ended December 31, 2021.

		Weighted	Weighted
		Average	Average
		Exercise	Grant Date
	Options	Price	Fair Value
Nonvested options, January 1, 2021	607,412	51,370	8.981
Granted	202,700	57.980	11.560
Vested this period	(156,401)	53.284	9.253
Nonvested options forfeited	(41,755)	51.056	8.952
Nonvested options, December 31, 2021	611,956	53.091	9.768

At December 31, 2021, there was $5.5 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested options granted under the Company’s plans. This compensation cost is expected to be recognized through 2026, with the majority of this expense recognized in 2022 and 2023.

The following table further summarizes information about stock options outstanding at December 31, 2021:

	Options Outstanding
		Weighted			Options Exercisable
		Average	Weighted			Weighted
		Remaining	Average			Average
	Number	Contractual	Exercise		Number	Exercise
Range of Exercise Prices	Outstanding	Term	Price		Exercisable	Price
$23.860 to 29.640	41,836	1.51 years	$	27.771	41,836	$	27.771
$32.590 to 38.610	52,956	2.82 years		33.072	52,956		33.072
$41.300 to 41.740	243,381	7.66 years		41.618	67,231		41.300
$50.710 to 52.500	172,143	5.11 years		51.677	140,026		51.580
$55.000 to 60.150	522,987	8.28 years		57.883	119,298		57.071
	1,033,303	7.05 years		50.528	421,347		46.804