Sectors & IndustriesFinancial ServicesMortgage Finance

Best Mortgage Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top mortgage stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best mortgage stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best mortgage finance stocks to buy right now are:

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) is the #1 top mortgage stock out of 14 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) has a Due Diligence Score of 35, which is 11 points higher than the mortgage industry average of 24.

ECPG passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Encore Capital Group has seen its stock return 108.34% over the past year, overperforming other mortgage stocks by 111 percentage points.

Encore Capital Group has an average 1 year price target of $77.33, an upside of 15.92% from Encore Capital Group's current stock price of $66.71.

Encore Capital Group stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Encore Capital Group, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Onity Group (NYSE:ONIT) is the #2 top mortgage stock out of 14 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Onity Group (NYSE:ONIT) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Onity Group (NYSE:ONIT) has a Due Diligence Score of 28, which is 4 points higher than the mortgage industry average of 24.

ONIT passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Onity Group has seen its stock return 27.53% over the past year, overperforming other mortgage stocks by 30 percentage points.

Onity Group has an average 1 year price target of $60.00, an upside of 58.94% from Onity Group's current stock price of $37.75.

Onity Group stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Onity Group, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Velocity Financial (NYSE:VEL) is the #3 top mortgage stock out of 14 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Velocity Financial (NYSE:VEL) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: D, and AI: C.

Velocity Financial (NYSE:VEL) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is 5 points higher than the mortgage industry average of 24.

VEL passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Velocity Financial has seen its stock lose -10.72% over the past year, underperforming other mortgage stocks by -8 percentage points.

Velocity Financial has an average 1 year price target of $22.50, an upside of 29.24% from Velocity Financial's current stock price of $17.41.

Velocity Financial stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Velocity Financial, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 5 mortgage stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 mortgage stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Greystone Housing Impact Investors (NYSE:GHI) has an annual dividend yield of 17.06%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the mortgage industry average of 7.84%. Greystone Housing Impact Investors's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% seven times in the last 10 years. Greystone Housing Impact Investors's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Greystone Housing Impact Investors's dividend payout ratio of 788.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Uwm Holdings (NYSE:UWMC) has an annual dividend yield of 10.93%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the mortgage industry average of 7.84%. Uwm Holdings's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Uwm Holdings's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Uwm Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 307.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT) has an annual dividend yield of 5.66%, which is -2 percentage points lower than the mortgage industry average of 7.84%. Rocket Companies's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Rocket Companies's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Rocket Companies's dividend payout ratio of -1,600% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Mortgage stocks were down -1.66% in the last day, and down -3.49% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why mortgage stocks are down.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued mortgage stocks right now are:

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) is the most undervalued mortgage stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Encore Capital Group has a valuation score of 43, which is 18 points higher than the mortgage industry average of 25. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Encore Capital Group's stock has gained 108.34% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the mortgage industry by 111 percentage points.

Onity Group (NYSE:ONIT) is the second most undervalued mortgage stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Onity Group has a valuation score of 29, which is 4 points higher than the mortgage industry average of 25. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Onity Group's stock has gained 27.53% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the mortgage industry by 30 percentage points.

Pennymac Financial Services (NYSE:PFSI) is the third most undervalued mortgage stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Pennymac Financial Services has a valuation score of 57, which is 32 points higher than the mortgage industry average of 25. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pennymac Financial Services's stock has dropped -11.09% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the mortgage industry by -8 percentage points.

72.73% of mortgage stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect mortgage stocks to rise by 48.43% over the next year.

9.09% of mortgage stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 9.09% of mortgage stocks are rated B (Buy), 63.64% are rated C (Hold), 18.18% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).