STOCK COMPENSATION

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

The Company maintains the Meta Financial Group, Inc. 2002 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended and restated (the "2002 Omnibus Incentive Plan"), which, among other things, provides for the awarding of stock options and nonvested (restricted) shares to certain officers and directors of the Company. Awards are granted by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors based on the performance of the award recipients or other relevant factors.

Compensation expense for share-based awards is recorded over the vesting period at the fair value of the award at the time of the grant. The exercise price of options or fair value of nonvested (restricted) shares granted under the Company’s incentive plan is equal to the fair market value of the underlying stock at the grant date. The Company has elected, with the adoption of ASU 2016-09, to record forfeitures as they occur.

The following tables show the activity of options and nonvested (restricted) shares granted, exercised, or forfeited under the 2002 Omnibus Incentive Plan for the six months ended March 31, 2020:


(Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Data)	Number of Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (Yrs)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding, September 30, 2019	59,835	$	8.06	1.54	$	1,469
Granted	—	—		—	—
Exercised	(29,922)	6.86		1.29	749
Forfeited or expired	—	—		—	—
Options outstanding, March 31, 2020	29,913	$	9.27	0.78	$	372

Options exercisable, March 31, 2020	29,913	$	9.27	0.78	$	372


(Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Data)	Number of Shares	Weighted Average Fair Value at Grant
Nonvested shares outstanding, September 30, 2019	926,122	$	29.54
Granted	179,372	33.29
Vested	(272,859)	30.08
Forfeited or expired	(9,584)	31.48
Nonvested shares outstanding, March 31, 2020	823,051	$	30.15

At March 31, 2020, stock-based compensation expense not yet recognized in income totaled $11.1 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average remaining period of 2.53 years.