Stifel analyst David Ross maintained a Hold rating on J.B. Hunt and raised his price target on the shares to $115 from $106 after the company reported Q4 results. Ross said that the quarterly earnings miss was driven largely by the lower-than-expected intermodal margin, as cost pressures "pinched" profitability, and the greater-than-expected loss in the company's brokerage division, as it continues to invest in people and systems to build out a freight marketplace. The analyst noted that two "interesting" comments were made about the current environment, namely that truck capacity rates rose "significantly" right before Thanksgiving and stayed there through early January, and that Truckload pricing remains at or below intermodal pricing in the East. Ross said he believes this highlights the difference between the small spot market and the larger contract market, and the fact that pricing pressure has yet to ease in contract negotiations yet.