SPRINGFIELD -- American Outdoor Brands, the parent company of Smith & Wesson, is expected to report an increase in revenue Thursday, stock analysts say citing an increase in FBI background checks.

AOBC's second-quarter results announcement will be on its website shortly after the close of the stock market.

On Tuesday, AOBC's stock traded at $11.82 a share, down 41 cents a share and well off a 52-week high recorded back in September following strong first-quarter results. The market was closed Wednesday for a national day of mourning in honor of President George H.W. Bush.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American Outdoor Brands revenue is $154 million for the recently concluded second quarter -- an increase of 4.05 percent compared with a year ago.

Background checks through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System are up 3.2 percent from this time last year and up 6 percent higher than the previous quarter, according to stock analysis website Motley Fool.

Gunmakers often use FBI background check data as an indicator of general interest in buying firearms.

But the Motley Fool does caution investors that Smith & Wesson offered deep discounts to move older models and there are signs of structural weakness in the firearms industry with long-term declines in demand.

In August, American Outdoor Brands reported year-over year sales and earnings gains citing cost cutting, and successful new products.

Net sales were $138.8 million in its first quarter of the fiscal year that ended July 31, compared with $129 million for the same quarter last year, an increase of 7.6 percent.

American Outdoor Brands reported income for that first quarter of $7.6 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.2 million, or 4 cents per share, for the first quarter last year.

In June, American Outdoor Brands reported annual sales were down 33 percent for this past fiscal year compared with the year before.

It was a tough year for the gun industry. Gun buyers tend to stock up when Democrats are in the White House fearing tighter controls. They buy less when Republicans are in power because they feel no sense of urgency.

Sales fell off after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.

Smith & Wesson traces its roots trace to 1852 when Horace Smith and Daniel Baird Wesson partnered to manufacture a firearm that used a self-contained cartridge.

American Outdoor Brands has 1,600 employees at its Springfield Smith & Wesson plant. It is advertising for production and professional workers in Springfield, at a plastics plant in Deep River, Connecticut, and at a new warehouse in Missouri.

The company faces protests for those calling for tighter controls on the sales and distribution of firearms. That includes outdoor demonstrations led by survivors of February's Parkland, Florida, school mass shooting.

The shooter used a Smith & Wesson rifle.

AOBC also has to prepare a report on what its doing to address gun violence and prevent future shootings after an alliance of Catholic nuns won a shareholder referendum in September. The vote, opposed by AOBC management, is part of an organized effort by the women religious who've bought stock in AOBC and its competitors to get the industry's attention.

Smith & Wesson changed its corporate name in 2016 to reflect a more diverse product lineup that includes knives and outdoor equipment.