NiSource put/call ratio hits highest since May as power output sets a record low

NiSource has risen 3.3% over the past week, in line with its closest utility peers, yet options traders are pricing in more downside protection than at any point since May 2026. The put/call ratio jumped to 0.703 on November 2, 4.3 standard deviations above its 20-day mean of 0.322. That is the highest reading since May.

Why this matters

The PCR spike is not a routine wobble. For most of October, NiSource's put/call ratio sat in a narrow band around 0.30. In the week since Q3 earnings printed, it has more than doubled. That kind of discrete shift, sustained across multiple sessions, points to deliberate protection-buying rather than a single block trade.

Put demand builds after earnings relief

Short interest has also climbed since the post-earnings pullback was documented last week. Positions stand at 3.7% of the free float, up roughly 18% over the past month. The prior note recorded a sharp week-on-week drop after earnings day. That reversal has now itself reversed: shorts rebuilt over October 30 and are back near the one-year highs seen heading into the print.

The lending market remains loose. Availability stands at 2,093%, meaning there are more than twenty shares available to borrow for every one already lent out. Cost to borrow is 0.49%, essentially unchanged and low by any standard. Shorts are not being squeezed out of their positions. The market is simply accommodating more of them.

A record low in the power data

US EPA Clean Air Markets Program Data shows NiSource posted its smallest September gross capacity factor on record (since 2024), at 34.45%. The dataset has no lead status against the company's reported figures, so no inference about the upcoming print can be drawn from it. As context for the business, the reading points to a weaker quarter of power output relative to the prior year's September.

The next earnings event is not until February 10, 2027, so the options positioning is not tied to an imminent catalyst in the usual sense.

Signals at a glance

• Put/call ratio: 0.703, a z-score of 4.3 above the 20-day mean, highest since May 2026
• Short interest: 3.7% of free float, up 18% over the past month
• Borrow availability: 2,093%, very loose; cost to borrow 0.49%
• Gross capacity factor (September, US EPA data): 34.45%, smallest September on record (since 2024)
• Stock up 3.3% over the past week, in line with peer median of roughly 3.1%
• Next earnings: February 10, 2027