Stock Issuances

On March 4, 2021, we entered into an underwriting agreement with D.A. Davidson & Co., as representative of the several underwriters identified therein, relating to the sale of 2,500,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, at a price to the public of $28.00 per share and granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase from the Company up to an additional 375,000 shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, at a price to the public of $28.00 per share to cover over-allotments  (the “Offering”).

On March 8, 2021 and March 10, 2021, the Company issued 2,500,000 shares and 375,000 shares, respectively, related to the Offering.  The Offering generated $80.5 million in gross proceeds from the sale of the shares.  The Company received approximately $75.3 million of net proceeds, after offering costs of approximately $5.2 million, which included underwriter discounts and fees, legal and professional fees, and commissions that were directly related to the Offering.  The Offering costs were charged to stockholder’s equity upon completion of the Offering.  The Company used the net proceeds from the Offering primarily to fund a portion of the consideration payable in connection with our acquisition of stock of JMB not previously owned by us. (See Note 1.)

On March 19. 2021, the Company issued 1,047,004 shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair value of $41.6 million to the selling shareholders of JMB as partial consideration for the acquisition of JMB.  (See Note 1).

Share Repurchase Program

In April 2018, the Company's Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program which authorizes the Company to purchase up to 500,000 shares of its common stock from time to time, either in the open market or in block purchase transactions. The amount and timing of specific repurchases are subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors.  As of March 31, 2021, no shares had been repurchased under the program.

Dividends

On September 3, 2020, the Company's Board of Directors declared a non-recurring special dividend of $1.50 per share to common stock shareholders of record at the close of business on September 21, 2020.  On October 29, 2020, the Company's Board of Directors declared a non-recurring special dividend of $1.50 per share to common stock shareholders of record at the close of business on November 23, 2020.  In the aggregate, the Company paid $21.2 million in dividends during the nine months ended March 31, 2021.

2014 Stock Award and Incentive Plan

The Company's amended and restated 2014 Stock Award and Incentive Plan (the "2014 Plan") was approved by the Company's stockholders on November 2, 2017.  As of March 31, 2021, 107,664 shares were available for issuance under the 2014 Plan, which terminates in 2027.

Under the 2014 Plan, the Company may grant options and other equity awards as a means of attracting and retaining officers, employees, non-employee directors and consultants, to provide incentives to such persons, and to align the interests of such persons with the interests of stockholders by providing compensation based on the value of the Company's stock. Awards under the 2014 Plan may be granted in the form of incentive or non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights ("SARs"), restricted stock, restricted stock units ("RSUs"), dividend equivalent rights and other stock-based awards (which may include outright grants of shares). The 2014 Plan also authorizes grants of performance-based, market-based, and cash incentive awards. The 2014 Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, which, in its discretion, may select officers and other employees, directors (including non-employee directors) and consultants to the Company and its subsidiaries to receive grants of awards. The Board of Directors itself may perform any of the functions of the Compensation Committee under the 2014 Plan.

Under the 2014 Plan, the exercise price of options and base price of SARs, as set by the Compensation Committee, generally may not be less than the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant, and the maximum term of stock options and SARs is 10 years. The 2014 Plan limits the number of share-denominated awards that may be granted to any one eligible person to 250,000 shares in any fiscal year.  Also, in the case of non-employee directors, the 2014 Plan limits the maximum grant-date fair value at $300,000 of stock-denominated awards granted to a director in a given fiscal year, except for a non-employee Chairman of the Board whose grant-date fair value maximum is $600,000 per fiscal year. The 2014 Plan will terminate when no shares remain available for issuance and no awards remain outstanding; however, the authority to grant new awards will terminate on November 2, 2027.

Stock Options

During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company incurred $271,074 and $215,733 of compensation expense related to stock options, respectively. During the nine months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company incurred $659,342 and $619,702 of compensation expense related to stock options, respectively.  As of March 31, 2021, a total of $3,620,118 of compensation expense related to employee stock options remained, which will be recorded over a weighted average vesting period of 2.4 years.

Two obligatory events were triggered as a result of the non-recurring special dividends declared on September 3, 2020 and October 29, 2020. In accordance with the terms of the Company’s equity award plans under which the options were issued, an adjustment was required to protect the holders of such stock options from decreases in the value of the stock options due to payment of the non-recurring special dividends. Each of these events decreased the exercise price of outstanding stock options by $1.50 per dividend, effective on the respective dates of record (September 21, 2020 and November 23, 2020).  The fair value of the options before and after these events were unchanged and therefore no incremental stock-based compensation was recorded

The following table summarizes the stock option activity for the nine months ended March 31, 2021:

Following is a summary of the status of stock options outstanding at March 31, 2021 and reflects the adjusted stock option prices:

The following table summarizes the nonvested stock option activity for the nine months ended March 31, 2021.

Valuation and Other Significant Assumptions of Equity Awards Issued

The Company used the Black-Scholes pricing model, which used various inputs such as the estimated common share price, the risk-free interest rate, volatility, expected life and dividend yield, all of which are estimates, to determine the estimated grant-date fair value of its stock options issued.

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions

The Company’s certificate of incorporation and by-laws contain certain anti-takeover provisions that could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of discouraging a third party from attempting to acquire, control of the Company without negotiating with its Board. Such provisions could limit the price that certain investors might be willing to pay in the future for the Company’s securities. Certain of such provisions allow the Company to issue preferred stock with rights senior to those of the common stock, or impose various procedural and other requirements which could make it more difficult for stockholders to effect certain corporate actions.