Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

STOCK BASED AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION (Tables)

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STOCK BASED AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION (Tables)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Summary of Nonvested (Restricted) Shares and Units Activity
We grant time-based and performance-based restricted shares or units. Performance-based restricted shares are only granted to executive officers. All performance shares only vest upon the attainment of certain financial and operational criteria as established and approved by our Board of Directors. The number of shares that may be issued to the award recipients may be greater or lesser than the target award amount depending on actual performance achieved as compared to the performance targets set forth in the awards.
 
Nonvested
Restricted Share
Activity
(time-based)
Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Nonvested
Restricted
Share Activity
(performance-
based)
Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2019 923,290  $ 38.25  378,455  $ 38.77 
Granted (1) 385,328  44.46  115,191  40.46 
Vested (Earned/Released) (347,555) 37.15  (87,737) 34.39 
Forfeited (2) (126,443) 40.45  —  — 
Outstanding as of December 31, 2019 834,620  41.25  405,909  40.20 
Granted (3) 225,593  72.51  80,193  61.06 
Vested (Earned/Released) (234,842) 38.80  (178,174) 34.10 
Forfeited (2) (34,754) 46.31  —  — 
Outstanding at December 31, 2020 790,617  50.67  307,928  49.16 
Granted (4) 226,936  85.19  86,384  65.91 
Vested (Earned/Released) (264,513) 46.09  (203,561) 44.92 
Forfeited (2) (60,511) 60.96  —  — 
Outstanding at December 31, 2021 692,529  $ 62.94  190,751  $ 61.68 
 
(1)Performance-based shares granted for the year ended December 31, 2019 includes 21,039 shares that were issued as a result of the performance achievement exceeding the performance targets related to grants to our executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2016. These shares vested in March 2019.
(2)Forfeitures on time-based nonvested shares are a result of terminations of employment, while forfeitures on performance-based nonvested shares are the result of failing to attain certain goals as outlined in our executive officers' compensation agreements.
(3)Performance-based shares granted for the year ended December 31, 2020 includes 24,054 shares that were issued as a result of the performance achievement exceeding the performance targets related to grants to our executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2017. These shares vested in February 2020.
(4)Performance-based shares granted for the year ended December 31, 2021 includes 37,425 shares that were issued as a result of the performance achievement exceeding the performance targets related to grants to our executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2018. These shares vested in March 2021. Performance-based shares granted for the year ended December 31, 2021 also includes 1,670 shares and 696 shares that were issued to our General Counsel, who retired on December 15, 2021, as a result of the performance achievement exceeding the performance targets related to grants to our executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. These shares vested in December 2021 in accordance with his employment agreement.
Summary of Compensation Expense and Stock Award Activity Below is a summary of compensation expense and stock award activity (in thousands):
  Years Ended December 31,
  2021 2020 2019
Stock-based compensation expense $ 20,069  $ 19,995  $ 19,607 
Summary of Additional Information Regarding Stock Plan
The following table includes additional information regarding our stock compensation plan (dollars in thousands):
  At December 31,
  2021 2020
Unrecognized stock-based compensation cost $ 25,007  $ 22,687 
Weighted average years expense recognition period 1.97 2.01
Total equity awards outstanding (1) 883,280  1,098,545 
(1) Includes unvested restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and performance-based awards (assuming 100%/target payout).