Note 3 - Earnings Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share [Text Block]

3. Earnings Per Share

Earnings per share are computed in accordance with ASC Topic 260 “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. Unvested share-based payment awards that contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents (whether paid or unpaid) are participating securities and as such are included in the calculation of earnings per share. 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 and other common stock equivalents 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. The shares held in the Company’s Employee Benefit Trust are not included in shares outstanding for purposes of calculating earnings per common share.

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

	For the three months ended September 30,							For the nine months ended September 30,
	2014				2013			2014			2013
				(In thousands, except per share data)
Net income, as reported	$	11,201			$	9,421		$	33,182		$	25,804
Divided by:
Weighted average common shares outstanding		29,772				29,773			29,937			30,143
Weighted average common stock equivalents		24				32			31			25
Total weighted average common shares outstanding and common stock equivalents		29,796				29,805			29,968			30,168
Basic earnings per common share	$	0.38			$	0.32		$	1.11		$	0.86
Diluted earnings per common share(1)	$	0.38			$	0.32		$	1.11		$	0.86
Dividend payout ratio		39.5	%			40.6	%		40.5	%		45.3	%

(1) For the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, options to purchase 61,000 shares at an average exercise price of $19.37 and 111,050 shares at an average exercise price of $19.56, respectively, were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share as they were anti-dilutive. For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, there were no options which were considered anti-dilutive. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, options to purchase 320,200 shares at an average exercise price of $18.33 were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share as they were anti-dilutive.