3.	MARKETABLE EQUITY SECURITIES

The Company accounts for its marketable securities in accordance with ASC Topic 320,

Investments-Debt and Equity Securities

. ASC Topic 320 requires companies to classify their investments as trading, available-for-sale or held-to-maturity. The Company’s investments in marketable securities are classified as either trading or available-for-sale and consist of equity securities. Management determines the appropriate classification of these securities at the time of purchase and re-evaluates such designation as of each balance sheet date. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method and interest and dividends on securities are included in non-operating income (loss).

Marketable equity securities classified as available-for-sale are carried at fair value, with the unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses, declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary on available-for-sale securities, and increases or decreases in value on trading securities, if any, are included in the determination of net income. A quarterly evaluation is performed in order to judge whether declines in value below cost should be considered temporary and when losses are deemed to be other-than-temporary. Several factors are considered in this evaluation process including the severity and duration of the decline in value, the financial condition and near-term outlook for the specific issuer and the Company’s ability to hold the securities.

For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the evaluation resulted in impairment charges of approximately $833,000, $1,000 and $29,000, respectively, being reported in the Company’s non-operating income (loss) in its statements of operations.

The following table sets forth cost, market value and unrealized gain on equity securities classified as available-for-sale and equity securities classified as trading as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

	2015		2014
	(in thousands)
Available-for-sale securities
Fair market value	$	24,575	$	24,592
Cost		16,015		14,272
Unrealized gain	$	8,560	$	10,320

Trading securities
Fair market value	$	-	$	303
Cost		-		157
Unrealized gain	$	-	$	146

Total
Fair market value	$	24,575	$	24,895
Cost		16,015		14,429
Unrealized gain	$	8,560	$	10,466

The following table sets forth the gross unrealized gains and losses on the Company’s marketable securities that are classified as available-for-sale as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

	2015		2014
	(in thousands)
Available-for-sale securities
Gross unrealized gains	$	9,893	$	10,710
Gross unrealized losses		1,333		390
Net unrealized gains	$	8,560	$	10,320

As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the total net unrealized gains, net of deferred income taxes, in accumulated other comprehensive income was approximately $5,310,000 and $6,402,000, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2015 the Company had net unrealized losses in market value on securities classified as available-for-sale of approximately $1,079,000, net of deferred income taxes. For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company had net unrealized gains in market value on securities classified as available-for-sale of approximately $237,000, net of deferred income taxes.

For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company recognized dividends of approximately $1,058,000, $896,000, and $781,000 in non-operating income in its statements of operations, respectively.

During 2015, the Company reclassified the securities which were classified as trading to available-for-sale at their fair market values at the time of transfer. During 2014, there were no reclassifications of marketable securities between trading and available for sale.

As of December 31, 2014, the Company's marketable securities that were classified as trading had gross recognized gains of approximately $146,000 and had no gross recognized losses.

The following table shows recognized gains (losses) in market value for securities classified as trading during 2015, 2014 and 2013.

	2015			2014		2013
	(in thousands)
Trading securities
Recognized gain (loss) at beginning of period	$	146		$	8	$	(26	)
Recognized gain at end of period		-			146		8
Securities transferred from trading to available-for-sale		(81	)		-		-

Change in net recognized gain (loss)	$	(65	)	$	138	$	34

The following table shows the Company’s realized gains during 2015, 2014 and 2013 on certain securities which were held as available-for-sale. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method and interest and dividends on securities are included in non-operating income.

	2015		2014		2013
	(in thousands)
Realized gains
Sale proceeds	$	1,500	$	1,720	$	857
Cost of securities sold		434		818		290

Realized gains	$	1,066	$	902	$	567

Realized gains, net of taxes	$	654	$	546	$	346

At December 31, 2015, the Company’s investments’ approximate fair value of securities in a loss position and related gross unrealized losses were $5,099,000 and $1,332,000, respectively. At December 31, 2014, the Company’s investments’ approximate fair value of securities in a loss position and related gross unrealized losses were $3,961,000 and $390,000, respectively. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, there were no investments that had been in a continuous unrealized loss position for twelve months or longer.

The market value of the Company’s equity securities are periodically used as collateral against any outstanding margin account borrowings. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had outstanding borrowings of $11,949,000 and $11,723,000 under its margin account, respectively. The weighted average interest rate on margin account borrowings was 0.94% and 0.76% as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.