Shareholders’ Equity

Stock-based Compensation: The 2012 Equity Incentive Plan provides for the issuance of restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and stock options to eligible employees and to members of our Board of Directors. A total of 1,595,675 shares of our common stock have been reserved for issuance of which 1,072,750 remained available as of December 31, 2017. No stock options or restricted stock were granted during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. There were no stock options or restricted stock outstanding as of December 31, 2017.

Restricted Stock Units: RSUs are issued for services to be rendered and may not be sold, transferred or pledged for such a period as determined by our Compensation Committee. RSU stock compensation cost is measured at our common stock’s fair value based on the market price at the date of grant. We recognize compensation cost only for RSUs that we estimate will ultimately vest. We estimate the number of shares that will ultimately vest at each grant date based on our historical experience and adjust compensation cost based on changes in those estimates over time.

RSU compensation cost is recognized ratably over the shorter of the vesting period (generally three years) or the period from grant date to the first maturity date after the holder reaches age 62 and has completed certain specified years of service, when all RSUs become fully vested. Vesting of RSUs is not subject to any market or performance conditions and vesting provisions are at the discretion of the Compensation Committee. An employee may not sell or otherwise transfer unvested RSUs and, in the event employment is terminated prior to the end of the vesting period, any unvested RSUs are surrendered to us. We have no obligation to purchase these RSUs that are surrendered to us.

A summary of the changes in our RSUs during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 is as follows (shares in thousands):



Years Ended December 31,	2017				2016				2015
	RSUs		Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value per RSU		RSUs		Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value per RSU		RSUs		Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value per RSU
Outstanding, beginning balance	681		$	39.15	451		$	32.73	565		$	31.38
Granted	259		51.31		572		43.17		228		33.40
Vested	(372	)	43.89		(307	)	36.24		(300	)	31.50
Forfeited	(44	)	43.51		(35	)	40.97		(42	)	33.38
Outstanding, ending balance	524		$	41.51	681		$	39.15	451		$	32.73

Compensation cost related to RSUs was $15.8 million ($11.4 million net of effective tax rate), $13.4 million ($9.2 million net of effective tax rate), and $8.8 million ($5.8 million net of effective tax rate) for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The grant date fair value of RSUs vested during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $16.7 million, $11.5 million and $10.3 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, there was $10.0 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to RSUs which will be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of 1.2 years.

401(k) Plan: As of December 31, 2017, the 401(k) Plan owned 1,454,844 shares of our common stock. Dividends on shares held by the 401(k) Plan are charged to retained earnings and all shares held by the 401(k) Plan are treated as outstanding in computing our earnings per share.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Our ESPP allows qualifying employees to purchase shares of our common stock through payroll deductions of up to 15% of their compensation, subject to Internal Revenue Code limitations, at a price of 95% of the fair market value as of the end of each of the six-month offering periods, which commence on May 15 and November 15 of each year. During each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, proceeds from the ESPP were $0.8 million for 16,413, 16,717 and 22,567 shares, respectively.

Share Purchase Program: On April 7, 2016, the Board of Directors authorized us to purchase up to $200.0 million of our common stock at management’s discretion, which replaced the former authorization including the amount available. We did not purchase shares under the share purchase program in any of the periods presented. The specific timing and amount of any future purchases will vary based on market conditions, securities law limitations and other factors.