Stock-Based Compensation

The Company grants equity based awards to employees and non-employee directors. Equity based awards include RSA's, Stock Options, PSU's and Stock Appreciation Rights ("SAR's"). Stock-based compensation expense related to employees is included within the Payroll and benefits line item in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Stock-based compensation expense related to non-employee directors is included within the General and administrative line item in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Total stock-based compensation expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:



	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
(in thousands)	2017		2016		2017		2016
Restricted stock award expense	$	367	$	584	$	805	$	982
Stock option expense	165		103		300		139
PSU expense	34		125		68		316
SAR expense	—		95		—		106
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	566	$	907	$	1,173	$	1,543

The amount of unrecognized compensation cost as of June 30, 2017, and the expected weighted-average period over which the cost will be recognized is as follows:



	As of June 30, 2017
(in thousands)	Unrecognized Compensation Cost		Expected Weighted-Average Period of Recognition (in years)
Restricted stock award expense	$	2,043	2.52
Stock option expense	431		1.15
PSU expense	69		0.51
Total unrecognized stock-based compensation expense	$	2,543	2.23

Restricted Stock Awards

Restricted stock is typically granted with vesting terms of three years. The fair value of restricted stock awards is determined based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the authorization date of the grant multiplied by the number of shares subject to the stock award. Compensation expense for restricted stock awards is recognized over the entire vesting period on a straight-line basis. A summary of restricted stock award activity under the Company's various stock compensation plans for the six months ended June 30, 2017 is presented below:



	Shares		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at January 1, 2017	297,347		$	8.03
Granted	159,092		$	9.58
Vested	(183,450	)	$	7.94
Forfeited	(1,202	)	$	9.01
Non-vested at June 30, 2017	271,787		$	9.00

Stock Options

Stock options generally vest over three years and have a contractual limit of five years from the date of grant to exercise. The fair value of stock options granted is determined on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the related expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the entire vesting period.

A summary of option activity for the six months ended June 30, 2017 is presented below:



	Number of Options Outstanding and Exercisable	Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years)
Options outstanding, January 1, 2017	632,446	$	11.61
Options granted	—	—
Options exercised	—	—
Options expired / forfeited	—	—
Options outstanding, June 30, 2017	632,446	$	11.61	$	167	2.67
Options exercisable as of June 30, 2017	251,114	$	13.38	$	67	2.85

Performance Share Units

Compensation expense is recognized for PSU awards on a straight-line basis over the applicable service period, which is generally three years, based on the estimated fair value at the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model. There were no PSU's granted during the six months ended June 30, 2017.

A summary of PSU activity for the six months ended June 30, 2017 is presented below:



	Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at January 1, 2017	49,516		$	25.20
Granted	—		—
Vested / Settled ⁽¹⁾	(30,110	)	$	(28.59	)
Forfeited / Canceled	—		—
Non-vested at June 30, 2017	19,406		$	19.95

(1) The number of units shown in the table above are based on target performance. The final number of shares of common stock issued may vary depending on the achievement of market conditions established within the awards, which could result in the actual number of shares issued ranging from zero to a maximum of two times the number of units shown in the above table. The following table shows the PSU's that were settled by issuing shares of the Company's common stock relative to a broad stock index and a peer group performance index.



	Year of Grant	Net Number of Issued Shares upon Vesting	Shares Withheld to Settle Tax Withholding Obligations	TSR Multiple Range		Russell 3000 Multiple
	Year of Grant	Net Number of Issued Shares upon Vesting	Shares Withheld to Settle Tax Withholding Obligations	Low	High	Low	High
Six Months Ended June 30, 2017
	2014	6,476	3,573	0.75	1.00	—	—
	2015	3,869	2,310	0.60	0.60	—	—
Six Months Ended June 30, 2016
	2013	28,566	1,572	0.63	1.00	—	—
	2014	11,487	—	0.63	0.63	—	—
	2015	13,529	—	0.50	0.50	—	—

Stock Appreciation Rights

SAR's generally vest over three years and have a contractual limit of five years from the date of grant to exercise. The fair value of SAR's granted is determined on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the related expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the derived service period of the respective awards. The Company did not grant any SAR's during the six months ended June 30, 2017.