Meritage Homes Corporation Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Stock Based and Deferred Compensation (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

Below is a summary of compensation expense and stock award activity (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended June 30,			Six Months Ended June 30,
	2015	2014		2015		2014
Stock-based compensation expense	3,835	$	2,853	$	8,465	$	5,264
Non-vested shares granted	15,000	19,400		403,787		374,683
Performance-based non-vested shares granted	—	—		66,187		52,083
Stock options exercised	200	—		143,640		40,245
Restricted stock awards vested (includes performance-based awards)	44,134	7,220		370,204		307,390

The following table includes additional information regarding our Plan (dollars in thousands):



	As of
	June 30, 2015		December 31, 2014
Unrecognized stock-based compensation cost	$	25,868	$	20,577
Weighted average years expense recognition period	2.68		2.11
Total equity awards outstanding (1)	1,137,554		1,255,714


(1)	Includes options outstanding and unvested restricted stock and performance-based awards and restricted stock units.