11. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Equity Incentive Plan

The Company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan ("2019 Plan") and its predecessor equity plan provide for the grant of shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock options, stock appreciation rights, dividend or dividend equivalent rights, stock awards and other awards valued in whole or in part by reference to or otherwise based on the Company’s common stock, to officers, employees and directors of the Company.

Restricted Stock Units

The Company grants restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to employees in connection with a long-term incentive plan. Awards with time-based vesting requirements primarily vest ratably over a three-year period. Awards with performance-based vesting requirements cliff vest after a three-year performance cycle and only after the achievement of certain performance criteria over that cycle. The number of shares ultimately issued for the performance-based units may vary from 0% to 200% of their target amount based on the achievement of defined performance targets. Compensation expense recognized for RSUs granted to employees totaled $5,566 and $4,168, respectively, for the nine months ended October 1, 2022 and October 2, 2021.

Effective January 1, 2022, the board terminated the 2012 Non-Employee Director Fees Plan (the “2012 Directors Plan”) and approved a new Helios Technologies, Inc. Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy (the “Director Compensation Policy”), which revised the compensation for Non-Employee Directors. The Director Compensation Policy compensates Non-Employee Directors for their board service with cash awards and equity-based compensation through grants of RSUs, issued pursuant to the 2019 Plan, which vest over a one-year period. Directors were granted 13,137 RSUs during the nine months ended October 1, 2022. The Company recognized director stock compensation expense on the RSUs of $266 for the nine months ended October 1, 2022. Directors were granted 20,375 shares of stock and the Company recognized director stock compensation expense of $1,586 for the nine months ended October 2, 2021, under the 2012 Directors Plan.

The Company had $9,656 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to the RSU awards as of October 1, 2022. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.8 years.

Stock Options

In 2022, the Company granted stock options with market-based vesting conditions to its officers. As of October 1, 2022, there were 82,500 unvested options and no vested unexercised options. The exercise price per share is $50.60, which is equal to the market price of Helios stock on the grant date. The options vest after achievement of defined stock prices and after the required service periods, which range from one to three years. These options have a 10-year expiration. The grant date fair value of the options totaled $2,334 and was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation.

The Company has also granted stock options with only time-based vesting conditions to its officers. As of October 1, 2022, there were 13,222 unvested options and 11,011 vested unexercised options. The exercise prices per share, which range from $35.04 to $55.03, are equal to the market price of Helios stock on the respective grant dates. The options vest ratably over a three-year period and have a 10-year expiration. The grant date fair value of the options was estimated using a Black Scholes valuation model.

At October 1, 2022, the Company had $2,495 of unrecognized compensation cost related to the options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.1 years.

Employee Stock Purchase Plans

The Company maintains an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) in which U.S. employees are eligible to participate. Employees who choose to participate are granted an opportunity to purchase common stock at 85 percent of market value on the first or last day of the quarterly purchase period, whichever is lower. Employees in the United Kingdom (“UK”), under a separate plan, are granted an opportunity to purchase the Company’s common stock at market value, on the first or last day of the quarterly purchase period, whichever is lower, with the Company issuing one additional free share of common stock for each six shares purchased by the employee under the plan. Employees purchased 28,960 shares at a weighted average price of $54.29, and 22,747 shares at a weighted average price of $57.93, under the ESPP and UK plans during the nine months ended October 1, 2022 and October 2, 2021, respectively. The Company recognized $272 and $431 of compensation expense during the nine months ended October 1, 2022 and October 2, 2021, respectively.