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Stockholders' Equity
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 30, 2014
Stockholders' Equity  
Stockholders' Equity

 

10.  Stockholders’ Equity

 

In July 2012, our Board approved the initiation of a cash dividend to our stockholders, which is subject to quarterly Board approval.  Cash dividends of $0.61 and $0.52 were declared during fiscal years 2014 and 2013, respectively.  Future decisions to pay, increase or decrease dividends are at the discretion of the Board and will be dependent on our operating performance, financial condition, capital expenditure requirements and other such factors that the Board considers relevant.

 

In July 2013, our Board increased the authorization to repurchase our common stock by 7.5 million shares to 48.5 million shares.  Under this and all previous authorizations, we have cumulatively repurchased 41.9 million shares at a total cost of $1,158.7 million through December 30, 2014.  During fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012, we repurchased 3.1 million, 4.5 million and 3.2 million shares of our common stock at a cost of $143.2 million, $183.7 million and $101.4 million, respectively.  Repurchased common stock is reflected as a reduction of stockholders’ equity.

 

Our share repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date, does not require us to purchase a specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time.  Shares may be repurchased in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions at times and prices considered appropriate by us.  Purchases in the open market are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”).  We make the determination to repurchase shares based on several factors, including an evaluation of current and future capital needs associated with new restaurant development, current and forecasted cash flows, including dividend payments, a review of our capital structure and cost of capital, our share price and current market conditions.  The timing and number of shares repurchased are also subject to legal constraints and financial covenants under our Facility that limit share repurchases based on a defined ratio.  See Note 7 for further discussion of our long-term debt.  Our objectives with regard to share repurchases are to offset the dilution to our shares outstanding that results from equity compensation grants and to supplement our earnings per share growth.

 

In October 2013, our Board approved the adoption of a prearranged share repurchase plan under Rule 10b5-1 (“10b5-1 Plan”) of the Act, effective from January 2, 2014 through July 1, 2014.  On July 21, 2014, our Board approved the adoption of a new 10b5-1 Plan, effective from September 5, 2014 through December 31, 2014.  These 10b5-1 Plans terminated on July 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014, respectively, in accordance with their terms.  On October 20, 2014, our Board approved the adoption of an additional 10b5-1 Plan, which is effective from January 2, 2015 through June 30, 2015.

 

On July 21, 2014, our Board approved the terms of a share repurchase plan (“10b-18 Plan”) under which we were authorized to repurchase shares of our common stock in open market transactions in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Act, which plan was effective from July 28, 2014 through August 12, 2014.

 

On February 27, 2014, we entered into a collared accelerated stock repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with a financial institution to repurchase $75 million of our common stock.  The minimum number of shares to be repurchased, 1.4 million, was delivered in March 2014.  Upon settlement of the ASR program, we received an additional 0.2 million shares on July 21, 2014.