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BENEFIT PLANS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
BENEFIT PLANS
NOTE 20—BENEFIT PLANS:
Defined Contribution Plan
The Company’s employees participate in a defined contribution 401(k) plan (the “Plan”) adopted in 2004 which covers substantially all employees based on eligibility. The Plan is designed to encourage savings on the part of eligible employees and qualifies under Section 401(k) of the Code. Under the Plan, eligible employees may elect to have a portion of their pay, including overtime and bonuses, reduced each pay period, as pre-tax contributions up to the maximum allowed by law. The Company may elect to make a matching contribution equal to a specified percentage of the participant’s contribution, on their behalf as a pre-tax contribution.
For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, the Company matched 50% of the first 2% of employee contributions, resulting in $0.5 million, $0.4 million and $0.1 million in expense, respectively.
Stock-based Compensation Plans

Restricted Stock Awards

The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation plan using the fair value method, as prescribed by ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Accordingly, for restricted stock awards, the Company measures the grant date fair value based upon the market price of its Common Stock on the date of the grant and amortizes the fair value of the awards as stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting term.
 
The Compensation, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board approves the issuance of awards of restricted stock to employees and directors pursuant to the 2023 Stock Incentive Plan, which was approved by the Board in April 2023 and the Company’s shareholders on June 14, 2023. No new awards may be granted under the 2015 Stock Incentive Plan, which was terminated by the Board in April 2023. The following table summarizes the restricted stock issuances under the 2015 and 2023 Stock Incentive Plans, net of shares forfeited, if any:

2023 Plan2
2015 Plan
Restricted Stock authorized under the plan1
3.0 million1.5 million
Net restricted stock (granted)/forfeited during:
Year ended December 31, 2020 and prior—(223)
Year ended December 31, 2021—(215)
Year ended December 31, 2022—(251)
Year ended December 31, 2023(82)28
Year ended December 31, 2024(497)—
Total net restricted stock (granted)/forfeited(579)(661)
1 No stock options were granted under the 2015 or 2023 Stock Incentive Plans.
2 The 2023 Stock Incentive Plan provides for an initial share reserve of up to 3.0 million shares of Common Stock.

Awards of restricted stock granted under the 2015 and 2023 Stock Incentive Plans generally vest over a one- to three-year periods from the grant date; awards of restricted stock granted under the 2023 Stock Incentive Plan to non-employee directors generally vest over a one-year period. The grant date fair value is expensed over the service period, starting on the grant date.
Details of the Company’s outstanding shares related to restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 are outlined below:

December 31, 2024December 31, 2023
Shares outstanding related to grants of restricted stock awards771345
Weighted average grant date fair value of awards$14.51$19.18
Additional shares outstanding related to dividends on awards5944
As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested shares of restricted stock granted was as follows.

December 31, 2024December 31, 2023
Unrecognized compensation expense on unvested awards$5,929$3,610
Weighted-average period of unrecognized compensation expense1.0 year1.7 years
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)

On June 14, 2023, the Company's stockholders approved the ESPP. The initial aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be purchased under the ESPP will not exceed 0.2 million shares. Under the terms of the ESPP, employees may authorize the withholding of up to 15% of their eligible compensation to purchase our shares of Common Stock, not to exceed $25 thousand of Common Stock for any calendar year. The purchase price per shares acquired under the ESPP will never be less than 85% of the fair market value of the lesser of our Common Stock on the offering date or purchase date. The Compensation, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of our Board of Directors, in its discretion, may terminate the ESPP at any time with respect to any shares for which options have not been granted and has the right to amend the ESPP with stockholder approval within 12 months before or after the adoption of the amendment. The difference between the Common Stock’s fair value and the employee’s discounted purchase price is expensed at the time of purchase.

The following table summarizes the Company’s ESPP activity from inception through December 31, 2024:

Year Ended December 31, 2024
Year Ended December 31, 2023
Offering Period
Total
Offering Period
Total
Commencement date
10/1/20244/1/202410/1/202310/1/2023
End date
12/15/20249/15/20243/15/202412/15/2023
Shares purchased
5 10 5 20 4 4 
Weighted average share price
$11.03 $10.21 $9.83 $10.32 $13.05 $13.05 
Total purchased, net of discount
$55 $101 $51 $207 $51 $51 
The ESPP share activity is as follows:
Shares
ESPP shares authorized under the plan200 
ESPP shares purchased during:
Year ended December 31, 2023 (4)
Year ended December 31, 2024(20)
Available for future purchases, December 31, 2024176 
The Company’s total stock-based compensation expense included within Salaries and employee benefits expense in the Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 is summarized below:

Year Ended December 31,
202420232022
Restricted stock awards$4,040 $2,828 $2,511 
ESPP22 — —
Total compensation cost recognized for stock-based compensation plans$4,062 $2,828 $2,511