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Note 11 - Stock-based Compensation | 12 Months Ended
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Aug. 31, 2016
Notes to Financial Statements |
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block] | 11. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION The Company has two stock-based compensation plans under which stock options and other stock-based awards have been granted, the Northern Technologies International Corporation Amended and Restated 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2007 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 administer 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 are issuable under the 2007 Plan. Options granted under the 2007 Plan generally have a term of ten 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. The Company issues new shares upon the exercise of options. As of August 31, 2016, only stock options and stock bonuses had 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 issued 2,438 and 3,206 shares of common stock on September 1, 2015 and 2014, respectively, under the ESPP. The Company issued 3,144 shares on March 1, 2016 under the ESPP. The fair value of option grants is determined at date of grant, using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the assumptions listed below. The volatility factor used in the Black-Scholes option pricing model is based on historical stock price fluctuations and the risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. treasury rates appropriate for the expected term. Dividend yield and expected volatility are estimated using historical amounts that are anticipated to be consistent with current values. Expected life of the option is based on the life of the option agreements. Based on these valuations, the Company recognized compensation expense of $427,437 and $495,683 during fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015, respectively, related to the options that vested during such time period. As of August 31, 2016, the total compensation cost for non-vested options not yet recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations was $239,400. Stock-based compensation expense of $159,600 and $79,800 is expected to be recognized during fiscal 2017 and 2018, based on outstanding options as of August 31, 2016. Future option grants will impact the compensation expense recognized. Stock-based compensation expense is included in general and administrative expense on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company currently estimates a ten percent forfeiture rate for stock options, and continually reviews this estimate in 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:
|  | August 31, 2016 |  | August 31, 2015
Dividend yield |  |  | 0.00 | % |  |  | 0.00 | %
Expected volatility |  |  | 46.0 | % |  |  | 46.6 | %
Expected life of option (years) |  |  | 10 |  |  |  | 10 |
Weighted average risk-free interest rate |  |  | 1.63 | % |  |  | 1.63 | %
Stock option activity during the periods indicated is as follows:
|  | Number of Shares (#) |  | Weighted Average Exercise Price |  | Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at August 31, 2014 |  |  | 239,000 |  |  | $ | 11.66 |  |  |  |  |
Options granted |  |  | 45,067 |  |  |  | 20.10 |  |  |  |  |
Options exercised |  |  | (38,333 | ) |  |  | 9.00 |  |  |  |  |
Options terminated |  |  | (4,000 | ) |  |  | 10.20 |  |  |  |  |
Outstanding at August 31, 2015 |  |  | 241,734 |  |  |  | 13.72 |  |  |  |  |
Options granted |  |  | 53,447 |  |  |  | 14.85 |  |  |  |  |
Options exercised |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0.00 |  |  |  |  |
Options terminated |  |  | (12,000 | ) |  |  | 13.38 |  |  |  |  |
Outstanding at August 31, 2016 |  |  | 283,181 |  |  | $ | 13.95 |  |  | $ | 392,370 |
Exercisable at August 31, 2016 |  |  | 188,600 |  |  | $ | 13.45 |  |  | $ | 336,683 |
The weighted average per share fair value of options granted during fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015 was $8.48 and $11.58, respectively. The weighted average remaining contractual life of the total options and exercisable options outstanding as of August 31, 2016 was 6.46 years and 5.60 years, respectively.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for compensation-related costs for equity-based compensation, which may include disclosure of policies, compensation plan details, allocation of equity compensation, incentive distributions, equity-based arrangements to obtain goods and services, deferred compensation arrangements, employee stock ownership plan details and employee stock purchase plan details. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 718 -SubTopic 40 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65895303&loc=d3e17540-113929 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 50 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68057994&loc=d3e25284-112666 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SAB Topic 14) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27013229&loc=d3e301413-122809 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6415400&loc=d3e5070-113901 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6415400&loc=d3e5047-113901 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6415400&loc=d3e5444-113901 + Details
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