NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) - Get Report are up 0.82% to $49.29 in early market trading Friday, after analysts at JPMorgan Chase raised their rating on the company to "overweight" from "neutral" earlier this morning.

JPMorgan also upped its price target to $56 from $45, saying the stock can be a long-term investment based on the firm's belief that Dow would generate a free cash flow yield in excess of 9% for 2018 and beyond.

In a research note, the firm added that Dow has "two large capital programs whose outlays pass through its funds flow statement directly." JPMorgan analysts believe curtailment of expansionary spending, would lead to a higher free cash flow profile for Dow.

The firm also noted that Dow has an attractive 3.4% dividend yield.

Midland, MI-based Dow Chemical operates as an integrated science and technology company. It is a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of products used primarily as raw materials in the manufacture of customer products and services.

The company serves various industries, including appliance, automotive, agricultural, building and construction, chemical processing, electronics, and water treatment.

Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:

Dow Chemical is a core holding of Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. During the most recent weekly roundup, this is what Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager & Jack Mohr, Director of Research - Action Alerts PLUS had to say about the stock:

Shares traded slightly lower this week on little news after having gained double digits in the last month alone, driven by an impressive 4Q earnings report, the completion of multiple divestitures (as well as CEO Andrew Liveris' confirmation that the company was on track to achieve its $7 billion to $8.5 billion divestiture target), and the stabilization of energy prices.

We believe shares are undervalued at 8.2x EV/EBITDA and the 3.4% yield allows us to be patient. Having said that, we might right-size the position once shares approach our cost basis in the low $50s given that it is a very big position and trades heavily with the underlying oil price, which remains volatile.

- Jim Cramer and Jack Mohr, ' Weekly Roundup' originally published 2/27/2015 on ActionAlertsPLUS.com.

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Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates DOW CHEMICAL as a Buy with a ratings score of A-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate DOW CHEMICAL (DOW) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, good cash flow from operations and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income."

You can view the full analysis from the report here: DOW Ratings Report