NOTE 8 – STOCK COMPENSATION



2011 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan



On March 28, 2011 the Board adopted and on May 19, 2011 the Company’s shareholders approved the Company’s 2011 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan (“2011 Incentive Plan”). The 2011 Incentive Plan authorizes incentive awards to officers, key employees and non-employee directors in the form of options (incentive and non-qualified), stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units (“deferred stock”), performance cash units, and other awards in stock, cash, or a combination of stock and cash. The 2011 Incentive Plan, as amended, allows the issuance of up to 2,000,000 shares of common stock.    



During 2017, stock options covering 288,186 shares were awarded to key executive employees and non-employee directors, which options expire seven years from the date of award and generally vest 25% each year beginning one year after the date of award.  The Company also granted deferred stock awards of 90,789 shares to key employees during 2017 under the Company’s long-term incentive plan for the 2017 to 2019 period. The actual number of shares of deferred stock, if any, that are ultimately earned by the respective employees will be determined based on achievement against performance goals for each of the three years ending December 31, 2019 and the shares earned will be issued in the first quarter of 2020 to those key employees still with the Company at that time.    



At December 31, 2017,  165,054 shares have been issued under the 2011 Incentive Plan, 1,315,294 shares are subject to currently outstanding options, deferred stock awards, and unvested restricted stock units, and 519,652 shares remained available for future issuance under the 2011 Incentive Plan.



Stock Option Plan for Directors



Shares of common stock are reserved for issuance to non-employee directors under options granted by the Company prior to 2011 under its Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors (the “Director Plan”).  Under the Director Plan nonqualified stock options to acquire 3,000 shares of common stock were automatically granted to each non-employee director concurrent with annual meetings of shareholders in 2010 and earlier years and vested immediately. The exercise price of options granted was the fair market value of the common stock on the date of the respective shareholder meetings.  Options granted under the Director Plan expire 10 years from date of grant. No options have been granted under the Director Plan since 2011 when the Company amended the Director Plan to prohibit future option grants. As of December 31, 2017, there were 51,000 shares subject to outstanding options under the Director Plan.



1992 Stock Plan



Under the Company’s 1992 Stock Plan (“the Stock Plan”), shares of common stock may be issued pursuant to stock options, restricted stock or deferred stock grants to officers and key employees. Exercise prices of stock options under the Stock Plan cannot be less than fair market value of the stock on the date of grant. Rules and conditions governing awards of stock options, restricted stock and deferred stock are determined by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, subject to certain limitations in the Stock Plan. The Company amended the Stock Plan in 2011 to prohibit future equity awards. At December 31, 2017, after reserving for stock options and deferred stock awards described in the two preceding paragraphs and adjusting for forfeitures and issuances during the year, there were 10,230 shares reserved for issuance under the Stock Plan. The Company has not awarded stock options or deferred stock under the Stock Plan since 2011.



Stock Options Outstanding



The following table summarizes changes in the number of outstanding stock options under the Director Plan, Stock Plan and the 2011 Incentive Plan during the two years ended December 31, 2017. 





The fair value of awards issued under the Company’s stock option plan is estimated at grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.  The following table displays the assumptions used in the model.





Total unrecognized compensation expense was $190,000 as of December 31, 2017, which is expected to be recognized over the next 2.3 years.  The aggregate intrinsic value of all outstanding options, exercisable options, and options expected to vest (the amount by which the market price of the stock on the last day of the period exceeded the market price of the stock on the date of grant) was $0 based on the Company’s stock price at December 31, 2017.  The intrinsic value of options exercised during the year was $0 in 2017 and 2016.  Net cash proceeds from the exercise of all stock options were $0 for 2017 and 2016. There were no stock options exercised in 2017. The following table summarizes the status of stock options outstanding at December 31, 2017:





The Company receives an income tax benefit related to the gains received by officers and key employees who make disqualifying dispositions of stock received on exercise of qualified incentive stock options and on non-qualified options.  The amount of tax benefit received by the Company was $0 and  $0 in 2017 and 2016, respectively.  The tax benefit amounts have been credited to additional paid-in capital.



Deferred Stock Outstanding



The following table summarizes the changes in the number of deferred stock shares under the Stock Plan and 2011 Incentive Plan over the period from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2017:





The grant date fair value is calculated based on the Company’s closing stock price as of the grant date. As of December 31, 2017, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to the deferred stock shares was $22,000 and is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.1 years.



Restricted Stock Units Outstanding



The following table summarizes the changes in the number of restricted stock units under the 2011 Incentive Plan over the period December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2017:





The grant date fair value is calculated based on the Company’s closing stock price as of the grant date. As of December 31, 2017, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to the restricted stock units was $0.



Compensation Expense



Share-based compensation expense is recognized based on the fair value of awards granted over the vesting period of the award.  Share-based compensation expense recognized for 2017 and 2016 was $417,000 and  $632,000 before income taxes and $271,000 and  $411,000 after income taxes, respectively. Share-based compensation expense is recorded as a part of selling, general and administrative expenses.



Employee Stock Purchase Plan



Under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), employees are able to acquire shares of common stock at 85% of the price at the end of each current quarterly plan term.  The most recent term ended December 31, 2017.  The ESPP is considered compensatory under current rules.  At December 31, 2017, after giving effect to the shares issued as of that date, 53,205 shares remain available for purchase under the ESPP.



Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)



All eligible employees of the Company participate in the ESOP after completing one year of service.  Contributions are allocated to each participant based on compensation and vest 20% after two years of service and incrementally thereafter, with full vesting after six years. At December 31, 2017, the ESOP held 696,688 shares of the Company’s common stock, all of which have been allocated to the accounts of eligible employees. Contributions to the plan are determined by the Board of Directors and can be made in cash or shares of the Company’s stock. The 2017 ESOP contribution was $425,890 for which the Company issued 119,632 shares in March 2018. The 2016 ESOP contribution was $218,758 for which the Company issued 47,248 shares in 2017.