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Check out our story in Sunday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch on whether you should invest in Anheuser-Busch InBev. For about two and a half months, U.S. investors have been able to hitch their wagons to the company through something called an “American Depositary Receipt,” a financial instrument that lets U.S. citizens invest in foreign companies.

Anheuser-Busch InBev controls one-fourth of the global beer market and owns big brands including Budweiser and Stella Artois.

The question is: What are the prospects for the world’s biggest brewer?

We talked to a number of analysts, and most of them recommended the company as an investment. Sure, among laid-off workers and squeezed vendors, the company has made more than its share of enemies recently. But as a pure money-making venture, it’s hard to beat, our experts told us.

“We started to warm up to these guys,” said Craig Hutson, bond analyst at Gimme Credit. “We’ve been very pleased with the progress they’ve made of achieving integration savings. And certainly they’ve paid down debt at a pretty rapid clip. … These are all things that are positive developments.”

Hutson likes the brewers strong cash flows and ready access to credit markets.

CEO Carlos Brito and his team “came in as pretty well-regarded in the industry,” Hutson said. “So far, they’ve proven their worth. They’re pulling the right levers to increase profitability.”

Rob Mann, analyst at Liberum Capital in London, thinks geography is important in deciphering the brewer’s potential.

“What they’ve been very good at doing is getting themselves into markets that really matter,” said Mann. “They care an awful lot about the U.S. and Latin America and China.”

Each market has something to offer, Mann said. The U.S. takes care of today, Mann said. Its beer market is not growing fast, but a brewer can keep steadily raising prices because sales volumes are stable. Plus, Anheuser-Busch InBev can save costs from “synergies.” It all adds up to good profits.

Latin America, meanwhile, “has been a tremendous performer for years,” said Mann. With Brazil discovering oodles of oil, its middle class looks set to expand and drink more beer. Latin America is a play for 3-10 years out, Mann said.

In the longer term, there’s China. It’s a very difficult market in which to turn a profit, because there are too many brewers. But the world’s most populated country is still key.

“It may turn into something, and (Anheuser-Busch InBev) will be there,” said Mann. “You might have to wait quite a long time.”

Something to think about. We invite comments.