Common Stock and Share-Based Compensation

Cash Dividends— In November 2013, we announced that our Board of Directors had adopted a cash dividend policy. Under the policy, holders of our common stock will receive dividends when and as declared by our Board of Directors. In addition, declaration of a cash dividend will result in the issuance of Dividend Equivalent Units ("DEUs") for holders of unvested restricted stock units ("RSUs") and Phantom Shares, beginning with our 2015 long-term incentive compensation awards. DEUs issued for unvested awards are subject to forfeiture and will be settled in cash upon vesting of the underlying RSU or Phantom Share. Pursuant to the dividend policy, we expect to pay quarterly dividends of $0.07 per share ($0.28 per share annually). Quarterly dividends of $0.07 per share were paid in March, June and September of 2015 and 2014, totaling approximately $19.8 million and $19.7 million for the first nine months of 2015 and 2014, respectively. In addition, DEUs totaling approximately $225 thousand were issued in the first nine months of 2015. Our cash dividend policy is subject to modification, suspension or cancellation in any manner and at any time.

Our authorized shares of capital stock include one million shares of preferred stock and 250 million shares of common stock with a par value of $0.01 per share, which reflects the amendment to our charter in 2014 to reduce authorized shares in connection with our reverse stock split.

Stock Repurchase Program — Since 1998, our Board of Directors has from time to time authorized the repurchase of our common stock up to an aggregate of $2.38 billion, excluding fees and commissions. We repurchased 3,165,582 shares for $53.0 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, and 1,727,275 shares for $25.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2014. As of September 30, 2015, $222.1 million was available for repurchases under this program (excluding fees and commissions). Our management is authorized to purchase shares from time to time through open market transactions at prevailing prices or in privately-negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions and other factors. Shares, when repurchased, are retired.

Stock Options — The following table summarizes stock option activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2015:



	Options		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Contractual Life (Years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding at January 1, 2015	3,691,567		$	20.13
Granted	—		—
Forfeited and canceled	(301,471	)	22.25
Exercised	(135,991	)	16.28
Options outstanding at September 30, 2015	3,254,105		$	20.10	2.35	$	3,241,791
Options exercisable at September 30, 2015	3,251,576		$	20.11	2.34	$	3,235,620

We recognize share-based compensation expense for stock options ratably over the vesting period. The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes valuation model. During each of the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, there were no stock options granted.

Restricted Stock Units — The following table summarizes RSU activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2015:



	Employees			Non-Employee Directors			Total
RSUs outstanding at January 1, 2015	898,550			112,579			1,011,129
RSUs issued	374,401			44,821			419,222
Shares issued upon vesting of RSUs	(162,061		)	(62,723		)	(224,784		)
RSUs canceled or forfeited(1)	(93,751		)	(1,629		)	(95,380		)
RSUs outstanding at September 30, 2015	1,017,139			93,048			1,110,187
Weighted average grant date fair value	$	15.37		$	15.04		$	15.34


(1)	Pursuant to the terms of our plans, employees have the option of forfeiting RSUs to cover their minimum statutory tax withholding when shares are issued. Any RSUs surrendered or canceled in satisfaction of participants’ tax withholding obligations are not available for future grants under the plans.

Phantom Shares — We grant phantom shares as part of our long-term incentive compensation program, which are similar to RSUs in that they are based on the price of our stock and vest ratably over a three-year period, but are cash-settled based upon the value of our stock at each vesting period. The fair value of the awards is remeasured at each reporting period. Compensation expense is recognized over the vesting period with a corresponding liability, which is recorded in accounts payable and accrued expenses in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The following table summarizes the phantom share activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2015:



	Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2015	1,036,331		$	15.91
Granted	712,561		16.32
Converted/paid	(495,509	)	16.41
Forfeited	(92,386	)	15.75
Outstanding at September 30, 2015	1,160,997		$	15.96

Share-Based Compensation Expense — The following table summarizes the share-based compensation expense recognized during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014:



	Three Months Ended September 30				Nine Months Ended September 30
	2015		2014		2015		2014
	(In thousands)
Stock options	$	10	$	75	$	88	$	338
RSUs	2,516		892		6,460		3,279
Phantom shares	2,307		585		5,203		3,185
Total	$	4,833	$	1,552	$	11,751	$	6,802

In the third quarter of 2015, we determined certain deferred tax asset balances associated with our share-based compensation arrangements were unrecoverable. As a result, we recorded a decrease in deferred tax assets of approximately $1.7 million, with a corresponding decrease to additional paid-in capital as of September 30, 2015.