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, 2023
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 and units are only granted to executive officers. All performance share awards 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, 2021 790,617  $ 50.67  307,928  $ 49.16 
Granted (1) 226,936  85.19  86,384  65.91 
Vested (Earned/Released) (1) (264,513) 46.09  (203,561) 44.92 
Forfeited (2) (60,511) 60.96  —  — 
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021 692,529  62.94  190,751  61.68 
Granted (3) 278,340  94.12  80,472  59.67 
Vested (Earned/Released) (3) (270,022) 49.42  (126,556) 43.28 
Forfeited (2) (41,745) 80.71  —  — 
Outstanding at December 31, 2022 659,102  80.52  144,667  71.33 
Granted (4) 184,563  112.36  69,131  101.30 
Vested (Earned/Released) (4) (210,611) 69.46  (80,915) 73.17 
Forfeited (2) (62,522) 92.15  —  — 
Outstanding at December 31, 2023 570,532  $ 93.63  132,883  $ 100.66 
 
(1)Performance-based shares granted and earned/released 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 former 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.
(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 and earned/released for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes 37,146 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, 2019. These shares vested in March 2022.
(4)Performance-based shares granted and earned/released for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes 26,167 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, 2020. These shares vested in February 2023.
Summary of Compensation Expense and Stock Award Activity Below is a summary of stock-based compensation expense and stock award activity (in
thousands):
  Years Ended December 31,
  2023 2022 2021
Stock-based compensation expense $ 22,511  $ 22,333  $ 20,069 
Summary of Additional Information Regarding Stock Plan
The following table includes additional information regarding our stock compensation plan (dollars in thousands):
  At December 31,
  2023 2022
Unrecognized stock-based compensation cost $ 27,791  $ 29,187 
Weighted average years expense recognition period 1.94 1.98
Total equity awards outstanding (1) 703,415  803,769 
(1) Includes unvested restricted stock units and performance-based awards (assuming 100%/target payout).