NOTE E – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION AND STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

The Company follows FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Section 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation, which covers a wide range of share-based compensation arrangements including share options, restricted share plans, performance-based awards, share appreciation rights, and employee share purchase plans. ASC 718 requires that compensation cost relating to share-based payment transactions be recognized in financial statements. The cost is measured based on the fair value of the equity or liability instruments issued.

Management recognizes compensation expense for all option grants over the awards' respective vesting periods on a straight-line basis. The fair values of all option grants are estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Once vested, these awards are irrevocable. Shares will be obtained from either the open market or treasury stock upon share option exercise.

As to restricted shares, the product of the number of shares granted and the grant date market price of the Company's common stock determines the fair value of restricted shares granted. Management recognizes compensation expense for the fair value of restricted shares on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the awards.

The following is a summary of the status of the Company's stock option activity and related information for its option plan for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively:

					Weighted
			Weighted		Average	Aggregate
	Number of		Average		Remaining	Intrinsic
	Stock Options		Exercise Price		Contractual Life	Value

Balance at September 30, 2015		188,276	$	14.61	1.4 years	$	—
Granted		—		—
Exercised		—		—
Forfeited		—		—
Balance at December 31, 2015		188,276	$	14.61	1.2 years	$	—

Exercisable at December 31, 2015		188,276	$	14.61	1.2 years	$	—

					Weighted
			Weighted		Average	Aggregate
	Number of		Average		Remaining	Intrinsic
	Stock Options		Exercise Price		Contractual Life	Value

Balance at September 30, 2014		188,276	$	14.61
Granted		—		—
Exercised		—		—
Forfeited		—		—
Balance at December 31, 2014		188,276	$	14.61	2.2 years	$	—

Exercisable at December 31, 2014		188,276	$	14.61	2.2 years	$	—

The following is a summary of the Company's non-vested restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and changes during the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014:

			Weighted
			Average
	Number of		Grant Date
	Stock Awards		Fair Value
Balance at September 30, 2015		1,252	$	4.30
Granted		—		—
Vested		—		—
Forfeited		—		—
Balance at December 31, 2015		1,252	$	4.30

			Weighted
			Average
	Number of		Grant Date
	Stock Awards		Fair Value
Balance at September 30, 2014		5,302	$	4.41
Granted		—		—
Vested		—		—
Forfeited		—		—
Balance at December 31, 2014		5,302	$	4.41

Stock option and stock award expenses included with compensation expense were $0 and $1,344, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2015.

The Company announced in November 2007 its second stock repurchase program of up to 5% of its publicly-held outstanding shares of common stock, or 129,924 shares. Through December 31, 2015, the Company had repurchased a total of 81,000 shares of its common stock at an average cost of $8.33 per share under this program. No shares were repurchased during the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Under the stock repurchase program, 48,924 shares of the 129,924 shares authorized remained available for repurchase as of December 31, 2015. The Company's intended use of the repurchased shares is for general corporate purposes, including the funding of awards granted under the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.

The Company has an Employee Stock Ownership Plan ("ESOP") for the benefit of employees of the Company and the Bank who meets the eligibility requirements as defined in the plan. The ESOP trust purchased 217,863 shares of common stock in the open market using proceeds of a loan from the Company. The total cost of shares purchased by the ESOP trust was $2.3 million, reflecting an average cost per share of $10.58. The Bank will make cash contributions to the ESOP on an annual basis sufficient to enable the ESOP to make the required loan payments to the Company. The loan bears a variable interest rate that adjusts annually every January 1^st to the then published Prime Rate (3.50% at January 1, 2016) with principal and interest payable annually in equal installments over thirty years. The loan is secured by shares of the Company's stock.

As the debt is repaid, shares are released as collateral and allocated to qualified employees. Accordingly, the shares pledged as collateral are reported as unearned ESOP shares in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As shares are released from collateral, the Company reports compensation expense equal to the then current market price of the shares, and the shares become outstanding for earnings per share computations.

At December 31, 2015, shares allocated to participants totaled 140,881. Unallocated ESOP shares held in suspense totaled 76,982 at December 31, 2015 and had a fair market value of $770,590. The Company's contribution expense for the ESOP was $31,000 and $27,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.