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Note I - Stock-based Compensation

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Text Block]

I – Stock-Based Compensation

The Company has stock-based compensation plans available to grant non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options and restricted stock to employees, directors and certain advisors of the Company. The stock-based compensation plans being utilized at January 31, 2023 are the Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan and the Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan. The Company recorded total stock-based compensation expense for all plans of approximately $4.2 million ($3.2 million after tax effects) and $4.7 million ($3.6 million after tax effects) for the nine months ended January 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Tax benefits were recognized for these costs at the Company’s overall effective tax rate, excluding discrete income tax benefits related to excess benefits on share-based compensation.

Stock Option Plan

The Company has options outstanding under a stock option plan approved by the shareholders, the Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan. The shareholders of the Company approved the Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan (the “Restated Option Plan”) on August 5, 2015, which extended the term of the Stock Option Plan to June 10, 2025 and increased the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the plan by an additional 300,000 shares to 1,800,000 shares. On August 29, 2018, the shareholders of the Company approved an amendment to the Restated Option Plan increasing the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the plan by an additional 200,000 shares to 2,000,000 shares. On August 26, 2020, the shareholders of the Company approved an amendment to the Restated Option Plan increasing the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the plan by an additional 200,000 shares to 2,200,000 shares. On August 30, 2022, the shareholders of the Company approved an amendment to the Restated Option Plan increasing the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the plan by an additional 185,000 shares to 2,385,000 shares. The Restated Option Plan provides for the grant of options to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock to employees, directors and certain advisors of the Company at a price not less than the fair market value of the stock on the date of grant and for periods not to exceed ten years. Options outstanding under the Company’s stock option plans expire in the calendar years 2023 through 2032.

	Restated Option Plan
Minimum exercise price as a percentage of fair market value at date of grant	100%
Last expiration date for outstanding options	May 1, 2032
Shares available for grant at January 31, 2023	262,500

The fair value of options granted is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model based on the assumptions in the table below.

		Nine Months Ended January 31,
		2023				2022
Expected terms (years)			5.5				5.5
Risk-free interest rate			3.59	%			0.86	%
Volatility			55	%			51	%
Dividend yield			-				-

The expected term of the options is based on evaluations of historical and expected future employee exercise behavior. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rates at the date of grant with maturity dates approximately equal to the expected life at the grant date. Volatility is based on historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. The Company has not historically issued any dividends and does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future.

There were 137,500 and 30,000 options granted during the nine months ended January 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The grant-date fair value of options granted during the nine months ended January 31, 2023 and 2022 was $5.0 million and $2.1 million, respectively. The options were granted at fair market value on the date of grant.

Stock option compensation expense was $3.0 million ($2.3 million after tax effects) and $4.0 million ($3.1 million after tax effects) for the nine months ended January 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of January 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $4.4 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested options that are expected to vest. These unvested outstanding options have a weighted-average remaining vesting period of 1.3 years.

The Company had the following options exercised for the periods indicated. The impact of these cash receipts is included in financing activities in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

		Nine Months Ended January 31,
(Dollars in thousands)		2023				2022
Options exercised			23,000				57,000
Cash received from option exercises		$	1,216			$	274
Intrinsic value of options exercised		$	1,204			$	4,924

There were no options exercised through net settlements during the nine months ended January 31, 2023.

The aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding options at January 31, 2023 and 2022 was $11.5 million and $14.2 million, respectively. As of January 31, 2023, there were 308,400 vested and exercisable stock options outstanding with an aggregate intrinsic value of $5.5 million, a weighted average remaining contractual life of 5.7 years, and a weighted average exercise price of $81.50.

Stock Incentive Plan

On August 5, 2015, the shareholders of the Company approved the Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan (the “Restated Incentive Plan”), which extended the term of the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan to June 10, 2025. On August 29, 2018, the shareholders of the Company approved an amendment to the Restated Stock Incentive Plan that increased the number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the Restated Incentive Plan by 100,000 shares to 450,000 shares. For shares issued under the Stock Incentive Plan, the associated compensation expense is generally recognized equally over the vesting periods established at the award date and is subject to the employee’s continued employment by the Company.

There were 40,470 restricted shares granted during the nine months ended January 31, 2023 and 10,250 restricted shares granted during the nine months ended January 31, 2022. A total of 57,288 shares remained available for award at January 31, 2023. There were 185,739 unvested restricted shares outstanding as of January 31, 2023 with a weighted average grant date fair value of $61.68.

As of January 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $6.6 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested awards granted under the Restated Incentive Plan, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average remaining period of 4.1 years. The Company recorded compensation cost of approximately $1.1 million ($862,000 after tax effects) and $656,000 ($497,000 after tax effects) related to the Restated Incentive Plan during the nine months ended January 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

There were no modifications to any of the Company’s outstanding share-based payment awards during fiscal 2022 or during the first nine months of fiscal 2023.