EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

NOTE 21 – EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE

The calculation of earnings per common share for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,

	2017		2016		2015
(In thousands, except per share information)
Net income	$	66,956	$	93,229	$	21,297
Less: Preferred stock dividends		(2,676)		(223)		-
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$	64,280	$	93,006	$	21,297
Weighted-Average Shares:
Average common shares outstanding		213,963		212,818		211,457
Average potential dilutive common shares		2,155		2,976		1,514
Average common shares outstanding - assuming dilution		216,118		215,794		212,971

Earnings per common share:

Basic	$	0.30	$	0.44	$	0.10

Diluted	$	0.30	$	0.43	$	0.10

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Earnings per common share is computed by dividing net income attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares issued and outstanding. Net income attributable to common stockholders represents net income adjusted for any preferred stock dividends, including any dividends declared and any cumulative dividends related to the current dividend period that have not been declared as of the end of the period. Basic weighted-average common shares outstanding exclude unvested shares of restricted stock that do not contain non-forfeitable dividend rights.

Potential dilutive common shares consist of common stock issuable under the assumed exercise of stock options, unvested shares of restricted stock that do not contain non-forfeitable dividend rights, and outstanding warrants using the treasury stock method. This method assumes that the potential dilutive common shares are issued and outstanding and the proceeds from the exercise, in addition to the amount of compensation cost attributable to future services, are used to purchase common stock at the exercise date. The difference between the number of potential dilutive shares issued and the shares purchased is added as incremental shares to the actual number of shares outstanding to compute diluted earnings per share. Stock options, unvested shares of restricted stock that do not contain non-forfeitable dividend rights, and outstanding warrants that result in lower potential dilutive shares issued than shares purchased under the treasury stock method are not included in the computation of dilutive earnings per share since their inclusion would have an antidilutive effect on earnings per share. Stock options not included in the computation of outstanding shares because they were antidilutive amounted to 34,989, and 69,848 as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. There were no stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2017.