Is AGNC Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold Near Its 52-Week Low?
Key Points
AGNC pays one of the market’s highest dividends.
But its exposure to rising interest rates makes it too risky to recommend.
- 10 stocks we like better than AGNC Investment Corp. ›
AGNC (NASDAQ: AGNC), one of the largest mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs) in the U.S., turns heads with its 16.6% forward dividend yield. But its stock has also declined 13% over the past 12 months, offsetting most of those dividends, and sits near its 52-week low.
Image source: Getty Images.
Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Should you buy, sell, or hold AGNC stock today?
As an mREIT, AGNC invests in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to collect interest. Like equity REITs, it pays out at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends to maintain a lower tax rate.
To shield itself from another credit crunch, AGNC allocates 89% of its $97.2 billion portfolio to Agency MBS backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae. But it's still sensitive to interest rate swings because it takes out short-term loans at lower rates to fund its long-term MBS purchases. If the Fed continues to raise its benchmark rates, the net interest spread (which currently hovers nearly 2%) will narrow, reducing its profits.
For 2026, analysts expect its EPS to grow 5% to $1.58 per share and cover its forward dividend rate of $1.44 per share ($0.12 monthly). But in 2027, they expect its EPS to dip 6% to $1.49 as higher rates reduce its net interest income. That pressure could drive investors away from AGNC for the foreseeable future, so it's smarter to sell or avoid it than to buy and hold it today.
Should you buy stock in AGNC Investment Corp. right now?
Before you buy stock in AGNC Investment Corp., consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AGNC Investment Corp. wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,123!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,408,822!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 11, 2026.
Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
