Share-Based Compensation
 9 Months Ended
Nov. 03, 2018
Share-based Compensation [Abstract]  
Share-Based Compensation
Share-Based Compensation
The Company records the fair value of share-based payments to employees in the unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income as compensation expense, net of forfeitures, over the requisite service period.
Share-Based Compensation Plans
In 2010, the Board approved, and the Company implemented, the Express, Inc. 2010 Incentive Compensation Plan (as amended, the "2010 Plan"). The 2010 Plan authorized the Compensation Committee (the "Committee") of the Board and its designees to offer eligible employees and directors cash and stock-based incentives as deemed appropriate in order to attract, retain, and reward such individuals.

As of April 30, 2018, upon the recommendation of the Committee, the Board unanimously approved and adopted, subject to stockholder approval, the Express, Inc. 2018 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2018 Plan”) to replace the 2010 Plan. On June 13, 2018, stockholders of the Company approved the 2018 Plan and all grants made subsequent to that approval will be made under the 2018 Plan. The primary change made by the 2018 Plan was to increase the number of shares of common stock available for equity-based awards by 2.4 million shares.  In addition to increasing the number of shares, the Company also made several enhancements to the 2010 Plan to reflect best practices in corporate governance. The 2018 Plan incorporates these concepts and also includes several other enhancements which are practices the Company already follows but were not explicitly stated in the 2010 Plan. None of these changes will have a significant impact on the accounting for awards made under the 2018 Plan.

The following summarizes share-based compensation expense:
 
Thirteen Weeks Ended
 
Thirty-Nine Weeks Ended
 
November 3, 2018
 
October 28, 2017
 
November 3, 2018
 
October 28, 2017
 
(in thousands)
Restricted stock units
$
3,015

 
$
3,249

 
$
9,347

 
$
9,455

Stock options
255

 
401

 
842

 
1,655

Performance-based restricted stock units
280

 
—

 
627

 
—

Total share-based compensation
$
3,550

 
$
3,650

 
$
10,816

 
$
11,110


The stock compensation related income tax benefit recognized by the Company during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended November 3, 2018 was negligible and $2.5 million, respectively. The stock compensation related income tax benefit recognized by the Company during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 was negligible and $2.1 million, respectively.
Restricted Stock Units
During the thirty-nine weeks ended November 3, 2018, the Company granted restricted stock units (“RSUs”) under the 2010 Plan and the 2018 Plan. The fair value of RSUs is determined based on the Company’s closing stock price on the day prior to the grant date in accordance with the 2010 Plan and 2018 Plan. The RSUs granted in 2018 vest ratably over four years and the expense related to these RSUs will be recognized using the straight-line attribution method over this vesting period.
The Company’s activity with respect to RSUs, including awards with performance conditions granted prior to 2018, for the thirty-nine weeks ended November 3, 2018 was as follows:
 
Number of
Shares 
Grant Date
Weighted Average
Fair Value Per Share
 
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Unvested, February 3, 2018
2,902

$
11.06

Granted
2,044

$
7.09

Vested
(987
)
$
13.69

Forfeited
(252
)
$
10.34

Unvested, November 3, 2018
3,707

$
9.08


The total fair value of RSUs that vested during the thirty-nine weeks ended November 3, 2018 was $13.5 million. As of November 3, 2018, there was approximately $23.0 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested RSUs, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.7 years.
Stock Options
The Company’s activity with respect to stock options during the thirty-nine weeks ended November 3, 2018 was as follows:
 
Number of
Shares 
 
Grant Date
Weighted Average
Exercise Price Per Share
 
Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years)
 
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
 
(in thousands, except per share amounts and years)
Outstanding, February 3, 2018
2,609

 
$
16.43

 
 
 
 
Granted
—

 
$
—

 
 
 
 
Exercised
—

 
$
—

 
 
 
 
Forfeited or expired
(142
)
 
$
16.58

 
 
 
 
Outstanding, November 3, 2018
2,467

 
$
16.42

 
4.9
 
$
46

Expected to vest at November 3, 2018
480

 
$
12.34

 
8.0
 
$
41

Exercisable at November 3, 2018
1,971

 
$
17.46

 
4.1
 
$
—


As of November 3, 2018, there was approximately $1.5 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 1.4 years.
Performance-based Restricted Stock Units
In the first quarter of 2018, the Company granted performance shares to a limited number of senior executive-level employees, which entitle these employees to receive a specified number of shares of the Company’s common stock upon vesting. The number of shares earned could range between 0% and 200% of the target amount depending upon performance achieved over the three year vesting period. The performance conditions of the award include adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) targets and total shareholder return (TSR) of the Company’s common stock relative to a select group of peer companies. A Monte Carlo valuation model was used to determine the fair value of the awards. The TSR performance metric is a market condition. Therefore, fair value of the awards is fixed at the measurement date and is not revised based on actual performance. The number of shares that will ultimately vest will change based on estimates of the Company’s adjusted EPS performance in relation to the pre-established targets. The 2018 target grant currently corresponds to approximately 0.5 million shares, with a grant date fair value of $7.54 per share.