Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND STOCK BASED COMPENSATION (Tables)

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND STOCK BASED COMPENSATION (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND STOCK BASED COMPENSATION [Abstract]

The following 401(k) match and other discretionary contributions were made to the Company’s employees, in accordance with the plans described above, in 2015, 2014, and 2013 (dollars in thousands):


	2015	2014	2013
401(k) Plan	$ 3,120	$ 3,715	$ 2,571
ESOP	1,146	3,440	1,774
Cash	1,146	983	482
Total	$ 5,412	$ 8,138	$ 4,827

Schedule of Recognized Stock-Based Compensation Expense

For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense (included in salaries and benefits expense) (dollars in thousands, except per share data) as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2015	2014	2013
Stock-based compensation expense	$1,388	$979	$889
Reduction of income tax expense	405	234	181
Per share compensation cost	$0.02	$0.02	$0.04

Summary of Stock Option Activity

The following table summarizes the stock option activity as of December 31, 2015:


	Stock Options (shares)	Weighted Average Exercise Price	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding as of December 31, 2014	389,269	$16.69
Granted	-	-
Exercised	(60,637)	14.98
Forfeited	(3,009)	13.83
Expired	(26,880)	23.12
Outstanding as of December 31, 2015	298,743	16.40	4.21	$2,793,148
Exercisable as of December 31, 2015	243,054	17.04	3.83	2,147,472

Summary of Nonvested Stock Activity

The following table summarizes the restricted stock activity for the year ended December 31, 2015:


	Number of Shares of RSAs	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Balance, December 31, 2014	223,039	$	20.07
Granted	166,831		23.99
Net settle for taxes	(18,096)		22.99
Vested	(54,469)		17.56
Forfeited	(12,249)		20.35
Balance, December 31, 2015	305,056		22.64

Summary of Performance Stock Activity

PSUs are granted to certain employees at no cost to the recipient and are subject to vesting based on achieving certain performance metrics; the grant of PSUs is subject to approval by the Company’s Compensation Committee at its sole discretion. PSUs may be paid in cash or shares of common stock or a combination thereof. Holders of PSUs have no right to vote the shares represented by the units. Prior to 2015, the PSUs awarded were performance based with the value equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant and the expense recognized over the vesting period. In 2015, the PSUs awarded were market based awards with the number of PSUs ultimately earned based on the Company’s total shareholder return (“TSR”) as measured over the performance period.


	Number of Shares of PSUs	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Balance, December 31, 2014	64,081	$	21.66
Granted	42,142		21.81
Vested	-		-
Forfeited	(10,481)		21.28
Balance, December 31, 2015	95,742		18.51

Schedule of Share-Based Payment Award, Stock Options, Valuation Assumptions

The fair value of each PSU granted is estimated on the date of grant using the Monte Carlo simulation lattice model that uses the assumptions noted in the following table.


	2015
Dividend yield(1)	3.12%
Expected life in years(2)	2.7
Expected volatility(3)	21.50%
Risk-free interest rate(4)	0.75%

(1) Calculated as the ratio of the current dividend paid per the stock price on the date of grant.

(2) Represents the remaining performance period as of the grant date

(3) Based on the historical volatility for the period commensurate with the expected life of the PSUs.

(4) Based upon the zero-coupon U.S. Treasury rate commensurate with the expected life of the PSUs on the grant date.

Estimated Unamortized Compensation Expense Recognized in Future

The estimated unamortized compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, related to stock options, restricted stock, and preferred stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2015 that will be recognized in future periods is as follows (dollars in thousands):


	Stock Options		Restricted Stock			Preferred Stock	Total
2016	$	115	$	1,925	$	444	$	2,484
2017		14		1,470		206		1,690
2018		-		1,060		-		1,060
2019		-		374		-		374
Total	$	129	$	4,829	$	650	$	5,608