Stock-Based Incentive Plan | Stock-Based Incentive Plan At the December 8, 2016 annual meeting, the stockholders approved the adoption of the Evolution Petroleum Corporation 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”), which replaced the Evolution Petroleum Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Plan (the "2004 Plan"). The 2016 Plan authorizes the issuance of 1,100,000 shares of common stock prior to its expiration on December 8, 2026. Incentives under the 2016 Plan may be granted to employees, directors and consultants of the Company in any one or a combination of the following forms: incentive stock options and non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and restricted stock unit awards, performance share awards, performance cash awards, and other forms of incentives valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, our common stock, including its appreciation in value. As of December 31, 2017 , 987,845 shares remained available for grant under the 2016 Plan. At December 8, 2016, there were no shares available for future grants under the 2004 Plan. All outstanding awards granted under the 2004 Plan continue to be subject to the terms and conditions as set forth in the agreements evidencing such awards and the terms of the 2004 Plan. Under these agreements, we have outstanding grants of restricted common stock awards ("Restricted Stock") and contingent restricted common stock awards ("Contingent Restricted Stock") to employees and directors of the Company. Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock The Company awards grants of both Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock as part of its long-term incentive plan. Such grants, which expire after a maximum of four years if unvested, contain service-based, performance-based and market-based vesting provisions. The common shares underlying the Restricted Stock grants are issued on the date of grant. Contingent Restricted Stock grants vest only upon the attainment of higher performance-based or market-based vesting thresholds and are issued only upon vesting. Shares underlying Contingent Restricted Stock awards are reserved from the Plan they were granted under. Service-based awards vest with continuous employment by the Company, generally in annual installments over a four-year period. Certain awards contain other vesting periods, including quarterly installments and one-year vesting. Restricted Stock grants which vest based on service are valued at the fair market value on the date of grant and amortized over the service period. During the six months ended December 31, 2017, we granted 112,155 service-based Restricted Stock awards, including 45,211 awards to employees and 66,944 awards to directors, substantially all of which have a one -year vesting period. We did not grant any performance-based or market based awards, nor any Contingent Restricted Stock awards, during this period. Performance-based grants vest upon the attainment of earnings, revenue and other operational goals and require that the recipient remain an employee or director of the Company through the vesting date. The Company recognizes compensation expense for performance-based awards ratably over the expected vesting period based on the grant date fair value when it is deemed probable, for accounting purposes, that the performance criteria will be achieved. The expected vesting period may be deemed to be shorter than the four -year term. As of December 31, 2017 , certain contingent performance-based awards were not considered probable of vesting for accounting purposes and no compensation expense has been recognized with regard to these awards. If these awards are later determined to be probable of vesting, cumulative compensation expense would be recorded at that time and amortization would continue over the remaining expected vesting period. Market-based awards vest if the three-year trailing total return on the Company’s common stock exceeds the corresponding total returns of various quartiles of indices consisting of either peer companies or a broad market index of companies in our industry. The fair values and expected vesting periods of these awards are determined using a Monte Carlo simulation based on the historical volatility of the Company's total return compared to the historical volatilities of the other companies in the index. Compensation expense for market-based awards is recognized over the expected vesting period using the straight-line method, so long as the holder remains an employee or director of the Company. Total compensation expense is based on the fair value of the awards at the date of grant and is independent of vesting or expiration of the awards, except for termination of service. Unvested Restricted Stock awards at December 31, 2017 consisted of the following: Number of Weighted Service-based awards 220,068 $ 6.68 Performance-based awards 50,360 5.67 Market-based awards 50,359 5.44 Unvested Restricted Stock at December 31, 2017 320,787 $ 6.33 The following table sets forth the Restricted Stock transactions for the six months ended December 31, 2017 : Number of Weighted Unamortized Compensation Expense at December 31, 2017 Weighted Average Remaining Amortization Period (Years) Unvested at July 1, 2017 391,624 $ 6.22 Service-based shares granted 112,155 6.96 Vested (163,431 ) 6.52 Forfeited (19,561 ) 6.16 Unvested Restricted Stock at December 31, 2017 320,787 $ 6.33 $ 1,510,203 1.39 Unvested Contingent Restricted Stock awards at December 31, 2017 consisted of the following: Number of Weighted Performance-based awards 36,688 $ 7.04 Market-based awards 25,180 3.42 Unvested contingent shares at December 31, 2017 61,868 $ 5.57 The following table sets forth Contingent Restricted Stock transactions for the six months ended December 31, 2017 : Number of Weighted Unamortized Compensation Expense at December 31, 2017 (1) Weighted Average Remaining Amortization Period (Years) Unvested at July 1, 2017 113,270 $ 4.64 Vested (46,630 ) 3.34 Forfeited (4,772 ) 5.30 Unvested contingent shares at December 31, 2017 61,868 $ 5.57 $ 84,005 1.03 (1) Excludes $115,665 of potential future compensation expense for contingent performance-based awards for which vesting is not considered probable at this time for accounting purposes. Stock-based compensation expense related to Restricted Stock and Contingent Restricted Stock grants for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $484,326 and $275,184 , respectively. For the corresponding six month periods, non-cash stock compensation expense was $971,810 and $586,872 , respectively. |