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Note 10 - Stock-Based Compensation
 3 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2011
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]
10.         STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company has two stock-based compensation plans under which stock options and other stock-based awards have been granted, including the Northern Technologies International Corporation Amended and Restated 2007 Stock Incentive Plan and the Northern Technologies International Corporation Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ESPP).  The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors administers these plans.

The 2007 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, stock unit awards, performance awards and stock bonuses to eligible recipients to enable the Company and its subsidiaries to attract and retain qualified individuals through opportunities for equity participation in the Company, and to reward those individuals who contribute to the achievement of the Company’s economic objectives.  Subject to adjustment as provided in the 2007 Plan, up to a maximum of 800,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.  Options granted under the 2007 Plan generally have a term of five years and become exercisable over a three- or four-year period beginning on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant.  Options are granted at per share exercise prices equal to the market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.  To date, only stock options and stock bonuses have been granted under the 2007 Plan.

The maximum number of shares of common stock of the Company available for issuance under the ESPP is 100,000 shares, subject to adjustment as provided in the ESPP.  The ESPP provides for six-month offering periods beginning on September 1 and March 1 of each year.  The purchase price of the shares is 90% of the lower of the fair market value of common stock at the beginning or end of the offering period.  This discount may not exceed the maximum discount rate permitted for plans of this type under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.  The ESPP is compensatory for financial reporting purposes.

The Company granted options to purchase 26,000 and 30,000 shares of its common stock during the three months ended November 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.  The fair value of option grants is determined at date of grant, using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the assumptions listed below.  Based on these valuations, the Company recognized compensation expense of $72,523 and $44,143 during the three months ended November 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, related to the options that vested during such time period.  The stock-based expense recorded reduced after-tax net income per share by $0.01 for each of the three months ended November 30, 2011 and 2010.  As of November 30, 2011, the total compensation cost for non-vested options not yet recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations was $245,646 net of estimated forfeitures.  Additional stock-based compensation expense of $217,570 is expected through the remainder of fiscal year 2012, and expense of $28,076 and $0 is expected to be recognized during fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2014, respectively.  Future option grants will impact the compensation expense recognized.

The Company currently estimates a ten percent forfeiture rate for stock options and continually reviews this estimate for future periods.

The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions and results for the grants:

The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions and results for the grants:

   
November 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
 
Dividend yield
  0.00%     0.00%  
Expected volatility
  48.8%     49.2%  
Expected life of option
 
5 years
   
5 years
 
Average risk-free interest rate
  1.31%     1.31%  

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the three months ended November 30, 2011 and 2010 was $7.14 and $3.60, respectively.  The weighted average remaining contractual life of the options outstanding as of November 30, 2011 and 2010 was 2.81 years and 3.47 years, respectively.