Sep. 21--When the Anheuser-Busch Cos. merged into Belgian beermaker InBev NV last year, the New York Stock Exchange lost not only one of its iconic American companies; it also lost one of its iconic ticker symbols.

Anheuser-Busch had, perhaps, the most easily remembered ticker symbol in the U.S. market: BUD.

But the merged company, now based in Belgium and known as Anheuser-Busch InBev, revived that ticker symbol last week when the New York exchange began trading the company's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) under the BUD ticker. An ADR represents one share of a foreign company and is used to trade that company's stock in U.S. markets, with the price quoted in U.S. dollars. Anheuser-Busch InBev also continues to trade on the Brussels exchange under the ticker "ABI," where it's quoted in euros.

"We are proud to bring back to the NYSE the widely recognized BUD symbol, which now represents a truly global entity with brands such as Stella Artois and Beck's, in addition to the iconic American brand Budweiser," Anheuser-Busch InBev Chief Financial Officer Felipe Dutra said in a news release.

He said the ADR listing in the U.S. will facilitate broader ownership of the stock.

"They know there is a demand for the stock among domestic investors in the U.S. that they previously didn't have access to," Credit Suisse Group analyst Lucinda O'Connor told Bloomberg News.

The ADRs had actually been trading in the U.S. since July 1 in the over-the-counter market, but daily trading volume had been averaging only about 15,000 shares recently, according to Bloomberg data. On the first day of NYSE trading Wednesday, 1.2 million shares were traded, with the ADRs closing at $46.95 a share.

The stock has performed very well in Brussels trading since the merger was completed in November. The stock bottomed out at 9.96 euros in November, close to InBev's previous record low. But it's been rising steadily since then and reached a 52-week high of 31.96 last week.

J.P. Morgan analyst Mike Gibbs said in a research note that some investors may be reluctant to buy the stock after it tripled in price, but "ABI remains our key pick in European beverages." His reasons include the company's dominant position in the Americas and growth in Europe.

"We continue to think the very visible cash flow generation is significantly undervalued at the current share price," he wrote.

Anheuser-Busch InBev's U.S. operations include a brewery and a can manufacturing plant in Jacksonville.