STOCK COMPENSATION - RESTRICTED STOCK AND PERFORMANCE SHARE GRANTS

The Company’s stock incentive plans provide for the making of awards to employees based upon time-based criteria or through the achievement of performance-related objectives. The Company has issued three types of stock grant awards under these plans: restricted stock with time-based vesting; performance share grants that only vest upon the achievement of specified performance conditions, such as corporate cash flow goals, or Performance Condition Grants; and performance share grants that include threshold, target, and maximum achievement levels based on the achievement of specific performance milestones, or Performance Milestone Grants.

The following is a summary of the Company's performance share grants with performance conditions for the nine months ended September 30, 2015:



Performance Share Grants with Performance Conditions
Below threshold performance		—
Threshold performance		99,184
Target performance		184,862
Maximum performance		340,129

The following is a summary of the Company’s stock grant activity, both time and performance share grants, assuming target achievement for outstanding performance share grants for the following periods:



	September 30, 2015		December 31, 2014
Stock grants outstanding beginning of the year at target achievement	237,045		265,701
New stock grants/additional shares due to maximum achievement	93,968		165,996
Vested grants	(29,941	)	(41,694	)
Expired/forfeited grants	—		(152,958	)
Stock grants outstanding September 30, 2015 at target achievement	301,072		237,045

The unamortized costs associated with nonvested stock grants and the weighted-average period over which it is expected to be recognized as of September 30, 2015 were $3,764,000 and 23 months, respectively. The fair value of restricted stock with time-based vesting features is based upon the Company’s share price on the date of grant and is expensed over the service period. Fair value of performance share grants that cliff vest based on the achievement of performance conditions is based on the share price of the Company’s stock on the day of grant once the Company determines that it is probable that the award will vest. This fair value is expensed over the service period applicable to these grants. For performance share grants that contain a range of shares from zero to maximum we determine, based on historic and projected results, the probability of (1) achieving the performance objective, and (2) the level of achievement. Based on this information, we determine the fair value of the award and measure the expense over the service period related to these grants. Because the ultimate vesting of all performance share grants is tied to the achievement of a performance condition, we estimate whether the performance condition will be met and over what period of time. Ultimately, we adjust compensation cost according to the actual outcome of the performance condition.

Beginning in the second half of 2013, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, or the Board, conducted a compensation study prepared by an outside consultant that was completed during the first quarter of 2014. One of the outcomes of the compensation study was that the Board elected to modify selected outstanding and unvested performance milestone grants, or the existing performance milestone grants, and issue new milestone performance grants. The Company has assessed that it is probable that these new performance milestones will be met.

As discussed above, the performance share grant approved by the Board in March 2014 included the modification of existing performance milestone grants totaling 133,890 restricted stock units and the issuance of new performance milestone grants totaling 89,837 restricted stock units. The restricted stock units of the modified existing performance milestone grants have been accounted for as a probable-to-probable modification since the Company has determined that achieving the existing performance milestones was probable. The unamortized total cost relating to these probable-to-probable modified performance milestone grants is being recognized ratably over the new requisite service period. The impact of modifying the existing performance milestone grants is an annual expense of $1,109,000 over the service period. The values for the 2014 performance grants, including the new milestone grants, are fixed at threshold, target and maximum performance, meaning that the amount of shares at vesting will vary depending on the stock price at that time.

During the second quarter of 2015, the 2014 performance milestone grants were modified to fix the number of shares to be received rather than have the number of shares to be issued at vesting float with the price of the stock, which converted the awards from liability awards to equity awards. As such, we reclassified $1,065,000 from other liabilities to equity. In accordance with ASC 718, "Compensation - Stock Compensation," this resulted in a probable-to-improbable modification resulting in no impact to earnings.

Under the Non-Employee Director Stock Incentive Plan, or NDSI Plan, each non-employee director receives his or her annual compensation in stock. The stock is granted at the end of each quarter based on the quarter ending stock price.

The following table summarizes stock compensation costs for the Company's Employee 1998 Stock Incentive Plan, or the Employee Plan, and NDSI Plan for the following periods:



($ in thousands)	Nine Months Ended		Nine Months Ended
Employee Plan:	September 30, 2015		September 30, 2014
Expensed	$	2,321	$	1,864
Capitalized	121		67
	2,442		1,931
NDSI Plan - Expensed	593		621
	$	3,035	$	2,552