Start here if you're new
what it is
DNP is a closed-end fund that owns utility stocks, bonds, and MLPs to send you monthly income.
how it gets paid
Last year Dnp Select Income made n/a in revenue. electric & gas common stocks was the main engine at 53.7% of assets, or 54% of sales.
what just happened
The key result was 16.0% market-value total return for the fiscal year, ahead of the 13.5% composite.
At a glance
52.8x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
7.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$0.32 fy2029 eps est
0.75 beta
~$4B market cap
xvary composite: 71/100 — average
What they do
DNP is a closed-end fund that owns utility stocks, bonds, and MLPs to send you monthly income.
The moat is boring on purpose. DNP has paid a regular $0.065 monthly distribution since July 1997, according to Duff & Phelps. Closed-end fund → a fixed pool of capital → so what: the manager does not have to sell holdings just because other investors want out. That helps when your portfolio is 79% common stocks and 17% bonds, mostly in utilities.
How they make money
n/a
annual revenue
electric & gas common stocks
53.7% of assets
non-utility common stocks
16.6% of assets
bonds
17.0% of assets
telecommunications common stocks
8.7% of assets
MLPs
4.0% of assets
The products that matter
utility equities and bond portfolio
Utility Income Portfolio
$161.69M income base · 24% leverage
it produced a 16% total return in fiscal 2025 versus 13.5% for the composite index. that's the whole pitch: steady income with enough active management to try to beat plain utility exposure.
16% total return
monthly cash distribution
Managed Distribution
$0.065 per share each month
the monthly payout is why you own this fund. the catch is that parts of it may come back to you as return of capital rather than fresh income.
7.6% yield
off-benchmark exposures
Midstream, communications, and international utilities
4% share price gain · 11% nav gain in fiscal 2026
management says these positions help explain why DNP can diverge from its composite index. the portfolio and the stock did move in the same direction this year, but the NAV moved much more than the share price.
benchmark gap
Key numbers
7.6%
dividend yield
That is the reason most people show up. You are getting paid monthly to own a utility-heavy portfolio.
52.8x
trailing p/e
That valuation is rich for an income fund. You are paying up for a payout stream that already looks expensive.
16.0%
fiscal return
DNP beat its 13.5% composite in the recent fiscal year, which says the portfolio did its job.
0.75
beta
Beta → how jumpy a stock is versus the market → so what: DNP has traded less wildly than the average stock.
Financial health
n/a
strength
- balance sheet grade n/a — not on this snapshot
- risk rank n/a
- price stability n/a
health data not available.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in DNP 3 years ago → it's now worth $11,800.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
The key result was 16.0% market-value total return for the fiscal year, ahead of the 13.5% composite.
This is a fund, so the useful scorecard is portfolio performance and distribution power, not product sales. said utilities stayed strong, and DNP outperformed its composite by 2.5 percentage points in the recent fiscal year.
16.0%
total return
13.5%
composite return
7.6%
dividend yield
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was 16.0%, because DNP beat its 13.5% composite while still offering a 7.6% yield.
-
dnp select income fund continues to reward investors.
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the closed-end fund delivered a total return of 16% in the recent fiscal year, compared to a 13.5% gain for the composite index (composed of the s&p 500 utilities index and the bloomberg u.s.
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utility bond index).the fund’s management recently noted a few factors that can lead to divergences between the fund and the composite. specifically, dnp’s investments in the midstream energy and communications sectors, as well as in international utilities, are not represented in the composite index.
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moreover, the broad utilities sector continues to show vigor.
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the fund’s share price and nav are up 4% and 11%, respectively, in fiscal 2026, while the s&p 500 utilities benchmark is up even more.
source: and company materials, fiscal year ended October 31, 2025
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is DNP's 24% effective leverage on a utility-heavy portfolio.
high
leverage magnifies the bad months
The fund uses 24% effective leverage. That boosts income and total return when utility assets rise, and it cuts the other way when they do not.
24% leverage is the force multiplier behind both the 7.6% yield story and the drawdown risk.
med
return of capital can flatter the payout
Parts of the $0.065 monthly distribution may be return of capital rather than fresh income. You still get the cash, but some of it may be your own money coming back with a tax wrinkle attached.
If more of the payout comes from capital instead of income, the 7.6% yield tells a prettier story than the underlying fund economics.
med
sector concentration is the point — and the problem
DNP is concentrated in utilities, with some midstream energy and communications exposure. If those areas lag, you feel it. There is no broader-business offset because this is the whole portfolio.
Your income vehicle already trailed the broad market by $2,740 over three years on a $10,000 starting investment.
med
nav and share price do not move in lockstep
In fiscal 2026, NAV was up 11% while the share price was up 4%. If you held through that, you learned the market price can lag the portfolio itself.
That 7-point gap is the difference between owning the fund and owning the idea of the fund.
you collect a 7.6% yield, but 24% leverage, sector concentration, and payout quality are the terms of the deal.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
distribution
monthly payout declaration
Watch for the next $0.065 per share declaration. If that number changes, the yield thesis changes with it.
leverage
fitch rating and leverage commentary
Fitch affirmed the fund's ratings on Jan 30, 2026. You care because any shift in how lenders view that 24% leverage changes the risk budget.
nav gap
share price versus nav
Fiscal 2026 started with a 4% share-price gain and an 11% NAV gain. Keep watching that spread. It tells you whether the market is rewarding the portfolio or ignoring it.
benchmark
return versus the composite index
DNP beat its composite 16% to 13.5% last fiscal year. One strong year helps. It does not erase a three-year lag versus the broader market.
Analyst rankings
risk profile
above average
risk rank 2 — safer than roughly 80% of stocks.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 123 buyers vs. 79 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 38.9M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$11
$15
$11
current price
$13
target midpoint · +23% from current · 3-5yr high: $15 (+40% · 8% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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