12. Stock Based Compensation—The Company accounts for stock-based awards to employees and directors in accordance with FASB ASC 718, “Share-Based Payment,” which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation for all share-based payment awards made to employees and directors including shares of common stock granted for services, employee stock options, and employee stock purchases related to the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“employee stock purchases”) based on estimated fair values.

The following tables illustrate the Company’s stock based compensation, unamortized stock-based compensation, and remaining weighted average period for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

	Stock-Based Compensation for the Three months ended		Unamortized Stock-Based Compensation		Remaining Weighted Average Period (years)
March 31, 2018
Restricted Stock	$	666	$	7,956		2.0
Unrestricted Stock	$	96	$	64		0.2
Performance Based Restricted Stock		547		3,562		2.4
Total	$	1,309	$	11,582

March 31, 2017
Incentive Stock Options	$	84	$	293		0.8
Restricted Stock		581		5,388		2.3
Unrestricted Stock		75		50		0.2
Performance Based Restricted Stock		300		2,385		2.5
Performance Based Options		40		128		0.8
Total	$	1,080	$	8,244

Option activity within each plan is as follows:

	Incentive Stock Option Plans			Weighted Average Price Per Share
Balance outstanding, December 31, 2017		472,783		$	9.38
Options exercised		(40,923	)		11.49
Options forfeited		—			—
Balance outstanding, March 31, 2018		431,860		$	9.19

All outstanding awards were vested as of March 31, 2018 and the intrinsic value was $4,757.

Information relating to stock options at March 31, 2018, summarized by exercise price is as follows:

	Outstanding Weighted Average
Exercise Price Per Share	Shares		Remaining Life (Months)		Exercise Price
Incentive Stock Option Plan:
$7.50		249,050		32	$	7.5
$11.32—$14.49		182,810		77	$	11.49
		431,860	51		$	9.19

Common stock grants — A summary of non-vested shares as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 is presented below:

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2018					Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
	Number of Shares			Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Number of Shares			Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested shares at December 31^st		391,753		$	15.63		324,756		$	14.75
Granted		254,972			19.97		251,475			16.10
Vested		(8,800	)		12.07		(10,100	)		12.95
Forfeited		(5,265	)		16.51		(6,544	)		15.26
Nonvested shares at March 31^st		632,660		$	17.42		559,587		$	15.38

Common stock grants — During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company issued a total of 254,972 shares of restricted common stock to employees. The shares will cliff vest after three years of service. The shares granted in 2018 were average fair valued at $19.97 per share. The fair value was determined by using the publicly traded share price at market close as of the date of grant. The Company will recognize as expense the value of restricted shares over the required service period.

During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company issued a total of 251,475 shares of restricted common stock to employees. The shares will cliff vest after three years of service. The shares granted in 2017 were average fair valued at $16.10 per share. The fair value was determined by using the publicly traded share price at market close as of the date the grant was approved. The Company will recognize as expense the value of restricted shares over the required service period.

As of March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had approximately $7,956 and $5,388, respectively, of unamortized stock-based compensation related to unvested restricted shares. This amount will be recognized over the weighted-average period of 2.0 and 1.4 years. This projected expense will change if any restricted shares are granted or cancelled prior to the respective reporting periods or if there are any changes required to be made for estimated forfeitures.

Performance Based Shares—A summary of non-vested performance based shares as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively is presented below:

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2018					Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
	Number of Shares			Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested shares at December 31^st		186,057		$	14.93		119,022	$	14.18
Granted		122,446			18.14		121,194		15.40
Vested		(14,625	)		11.09		—		—
Forfeited		(1,765	)		15.40		—		—
Nonvested shares at March 31^st		292,113		$	16.46		240,216	$	14.80

Performance Based Shares — During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company issued a total of 122,446 performance based shares to employees. The shares granted during the first quarter of 2018 have an average fair value of $18.14. The fair value was determined by using the publicly traded share price at market close as of the date of grant. The Company will recognize as expense the value of the performance based shares over the required service period from grant date. The shares will cliff vest on March 9, 2021 with a measurement period commencing January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2020. Eighty percent of these performance based shares are based upon the financial performance of the Company, specifically, an earnings before income tax (“EBIT”) goal weighted at 50% and a net sales goal weighted at 30%. The remaining 20% of performance based shares are based upon AVD stock price appreciation over the same performance measurement period. The EBIT and net sales goals measure the relative growth of the Company’s EBIT and net sales for the performance measurement period, as compared to the median growth of EBIT and net sales for an identified peer group. The stockholder return goal measures the relative growth of the fair market value of the Company’s stock price over the performance measurement period, as compared to that of the Russell 2000 Index and the median fair market value of the common stock of the comparator companies, identified in the Company’s 2017 Proxy Statement. All parts of these awards vest in three years, but are subject to reduction to a minimum (or even zero) for recording less than the targeted performance and to increase to a maximum of 200% for achieving in excess of the targeted performance.

During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company issued a total of 121,194 performance based shares to employees. The shares granted during the first quarter of 2018 have an average fair value of $15.40. The fair value was determined by using the publicly traded share price at market close as of the date of grant. The Company will recognize as expense the value of the performance based shares over the required service period from grant date. The shares will cliff vest on February 8, 2020 with a measurement period commencing January 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2019. Eighty percent of these performance based shares are based upon the financial performance of the Company, specifically, an earnings before income tax (“EBIT”) goal weighted at 50% and a net sales goal weighted at 30%. The remaining 20% of performance based shares are based upon AVD stock price appreciation over the same performance measurement period. The EBIT and net sales goals measure the relative growth of the Company’s EBIT and net sales for the performance measurement period, as compared to the median growth of EBIT and net sales for an identified peer group. The stockholder return goal measures the relative growth of the fair market value of the Company’s stock price over the performance measurement period, as compared to that of the Russell 2000 Index and the median fair market value of the common stock of the comparator companies, identified in the Company’s 2016 Proxy Statement. All parts of these awards vest in three years, but are subject to reduction to a minimum (or even zero) for recording less than the targeted performance and to increase to a maximum of 200% for achieving in excess of the targeted performance.

As of March 31, 2018, performance based shares related to earnings before income tax (“EBIT”) and net sales have an average fair value of $19.95 per share. The fair value was determined by using the publicly traded share price at market close as of the date of grant. The performance based shares related to the Company’s stock price have an average fair value of $16.49 per share. The fair value was determined by using the Monte Carlo valuation method. For awards with performance conditions, the Company recognizes share-based compensation cost on a straight-line basis for each performance criteria over the implied service period.

As of March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had approximately $3,562 and $2,385, respectively, of unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested performance based shares. This amount will be recognized over the weighted-average period of 2.4 and 1.3 years. This projected expense will change if any performance based shares are granted or cancelled prior to the respective reporting periods or if there are any changes required to be made for estimated forfeitures.

Performance Incentive Stock Options—During the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company did not grant any employees performance incentive stock options to acquire shares of common stock.

Performance option activity is as follows:

Incentive

Stock Option

Plans

Weighted

Average Price

Per Share

Balance outstanding, December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2018

81,666

11.49

All outstanding awards were vested as of March 31, 2018 and the intrinsic value was $711.

Information relating to stock options at March 31, 2018 summarized by exercise price is as follows:

Outstanding Weighted

Average

Exercise Price Per Share

Remaining

Life

(Months)

Exercise

Price

Performance Incentive Stock Option Plan:

81,666

11.49

In March 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (ASC 718). The new standard changes the accounting for certain aspects of share-based payments to employees. The standard requires the recognition of the income tax effects of awards in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled, thus eliminating additional paid in capital (“APIC”) pools. The standard also allows for the employer to repurchase more of an employee’s shares for tax withholding purposes without triggering liability accounting. Cash paid by an employer when directly withholding shares for tax-withholding purposes should be classified as a financing activity in the statement of cash flows. In addition, the standard allows for a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur rather than on an estimated basis. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted this new standard effective as of January 1, 2017. The impact of this adoption was not material.