Note 3 - Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Earnings Per Share [Text Block]

3.  Earnings Per Share

Earnings per share are computed in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 260 “Earnings Per Share,” which provides that unvested share-based payment awards that contain nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents (whether paid or unpaid) are participating securities and as such should be included in the calculation of earnings per share.  Basic earnings per common share is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the total weighted average number of common shares outstanding, which includes unvested participating securities. The Company’s unvested restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards are considered participating securities. Therefore, weighted average common shares outstanding used for computing basic earnings per common share includes common shares outstanding plus unvested restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards. The computation of diluted earnings per share includes the additional dilutive effect of stock options outstanding during the period.  Common stock equivalents that are anti-dilutive are not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share. The numerator for calculating basic and diluted earnings per common share is net income available to common shareholders.

Earnings per common share have been computed based on the following:

	For the three months ended March 31,
	2012			2011
	(In thousands, except per share data)
Net income, as reported	$	7,129		$	7,953
Divided by:
Weighted average common shares outstanding		30,396			30,620
Weighted average common stock equivalents		24			66
Total weighted average common shares outstanding and common stock equivalents		30,420			30,686
Basic earnings per common share	$	0.23		$	0.26
Diluted earnings per common share (1)	$	0.23		$	0.26
Dividend payout ratio		56.5	%		50.0	%

(1)   For the three months ended March 31, 2012, options to purchase 720,340 shares at an average exercise price of $16.71 were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share as they were anti-dilutive. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, options to purchase 560,550 shares at an average exercise price of $17.62 were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share as they were anti-dilutive.