Stock Based Compensation |
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| Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock Based Compensation | Note 10: Stock Based Compensation The Company has granted stock options, stock units and dividend equivalents to non-employee directors, officers and other key employees of the Company pursuant to the terms of its 2007 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan (the “2007 Plan”). Stock units under the 2007 Plan generally vest based on (i) continued employment with the Company (“RSUs”), or (ii) continued employment with the Company where distribution of the shares is subject to the satisfaction in whole or in part of stated performance-based goals (“PSUs”). The 2007 Plan has been replaced by the 2017 Omnibus Plan, as defined below, and no additional awards may be granted under the 2007 Plan. However, shares may still be issued under the 2007 Plan pursuant to the terms of awards previously issued under that plan prior to May 12, 2017. In May 2017, the Company’s shareholders approved the American Water Works Company, Inc. 2017 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan (the “2017 Omnibus Plan”). The Company has granted stock units, including RSUs and PSUs, stock awards and dividend equivalents to non-employee directors, officers and employees under the 2017 Omnibus Plan. A total of 7.2 million shares of common stock may be issued under the 2017 Omnibus Plan. As of December 31, 2019, 6.8 million shares were available for grant under the 2017 Omnibus Plan. The 2017 Omnibus Plan provides that grants of awards may be in any of the following forms: incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, stock units, stock awards, other stock-based awards and dividend equivalents. Dividend equivalents may be granted only on stock units or other stock-based awards. The 2017 Omnibus Plan expires in 2027. The cost of services received from employees in exchange for the issuance of stock options and restricted stock awards is measured based on the grant date fair value of the awards issued. The value of stock options and stock unit awards at the date of the grant is amortized through expense over the requisite service period. All awards granted in 2019, 2018 and 2017 are classified as equity. The Company recognizes compensation expense for stock awards over the vesting period of the award. The Company stratified its grant populations and used historic employee turnover rates to estimate employee forfeitures. The estimated rate is compared to the actual forfeitures at the end of the reporting period and adjusted as necessary. Presented in the table below is the stock-based compensation expense recorded in O&M expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31:
There were no significant stock-based compensation costs capitalized during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017. The Company receives a tax deduction based on the intrinsic value of the award at the exercise date for stock options and the distribution date for stock units. For each award, throughout the requisite service period, the Company recognizes the tax benefits, which have been included in deferred income tax assets, related to compensation costs. The tax deductions in excess of the benefits recorded throughout the requisite service period are recorded to the Consolidated Statements of Operations and are presented in the financing section of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Stock Options There were no grants of stock options to employees in 2019, 2018 and 2017. The stock options that were previously issued vested ratably over the three-year service period beginning on January 1 of the year of the grant and have no performance vesting conditions. Expense was recognized using the straight-line method and was amortized over the requisite service period. Presented in the table below is stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2019:
As of December 31, 2019, no unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested stock options is expected to be recognized as all of the outstanding options are exercisable. The total fair value of stock options vested was $1 million, $1 million and $2 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Presented in the table below is additional information regarding stock options exercised during the years ended December 31:
Stock Units During 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company granted RSUs to certain employees under the 2007 Plan and 2017 Omnibus Plan, as applicable. RSUs generally vest based on continued employment with the Company over periods ranging from one to three years. During 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company granted stock units to non-employee directors under the 2017 Omnibus Plan. The stock units were vested in full on the date of grant; however, distribution of the shares will be made within 30 days of the earlier of (i) 15 months after the date of the last annual meeting of shareholders, subject to any deferral election by the director, or (ii) the participant’s separation from service. Because these stock units vested on the grant date, the total grant date fair value was recorded in operation and maintenance expense on the grant date. The RSUs are valued at the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of the grant and the majority vest ratably over a three-year service period. These RSUs are amortized through expense over the requisite service period using the straight-line method. Presented in the table below is RSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2019:
As of December 31, 2019, $4 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to the nonvested RSUs is expected to be recognized over the weighted average remaining life of 1.72 years. The total fair value of stock units and RSUs vested was $4 million, $4 million and $3 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. During 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company granted PSUs to certain employees under the 2007 Plan and 2017 Omnibus Plan, as applicable. The majority of PSUs vest ratably based on continued employment with the Company over the three-year performance period (the “Performance Period”). Distribution of the performance shares is contingent upon the achievement of one or more internal performance measures and, separately, a relative total shareholder return performance measure, over the Performance Period. Presented in the table below is PSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2019:
As of December 31, 2019, $4 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to the nonvested PSUs is expected to be recognized over the weighted average remaining life of 1.09 years. The total fair value of PSUs vested was $14 million, $12 million and $13 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. PSUs granted with one or more internal performance measures are valued at the market value of the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. PSUs granted with a relative total shareholder return condition are valued using a Monte Carlo model. Expected volatility is based on historical volatilities of traded common stock of the Company and comparative companies using daily stock prices over the past three years. The expected term is three years and the risk-free interest rate is based on the three-year U.S. Treasury rate in effect as of the measurement date. Presented in the table below is the weighted average assumptions used in the Monte Carlo simulation and the weighted average grant date fair values of PSUs granted for the years ended December 31:
The grant date fair value of PSUs that vest ratably and have market and/or performance conditions are amortized through expense over the requisite service period using the graded-vesting method. If dividends are paid with respect to shares of the Company’s common stock before the shares underlying the RSUs and PSUs are distributed, the Company credits a liability for the value of the dividends that would have been paid if the RSUs and PSUs were shares of Company common stock. When the shares underlying the RSUs and PSUs are distributed, the Company pays the participant a lump sum cash payment equal to the value of the dividend equivalents accrued. The Company accrued dividend equivalents totaling $1 million, $1 million and less than $1 million to accumulated deficit in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Employee Stock Purchase Plan The Company maintains a nonqualified employee stock purchase plan (the “ESPP”) that expires in 2027 through which employee participants (other than the Company’s executive officers) may use payroll deductions to acquire Company common stock at a discount of 85% of the fair market value of the common stock at the end of the purchase period. A total of 2.0 million shares may be issued under the ESPP, and as of December 31, 2019, there were 1.8 million shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the ESPP. The ESPP is considered compensatory. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company issued 88 thousand, 95 thousand and 93 thousand shares, respectively, under the ESPP and its predecessor plan.
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