Sectors & IndustriesReal EstateREIT - Mortgage

Best Mortgage REIT Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top mortgage reit 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 reit 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 reit stocks to buy right now are:

Rithm Capital (NYSE:RITM) is the #1 top mortgage reit stock out of 39 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 Rithm Capital (NYSE:RITM) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Rithm Capital (NYSE:RITM) has a Due Diligence Score of 35, which is 5 points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 30.

RITM passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Rithm Capital has seen its stock return 0.2% over the past year, underperforming other mortgage reit stocks by -5 percentage points.

Rithm Capital has an average 1 year price target of $14.08, an upside of 38.61% from Rithm Capital's current stock price of $10.16.

Rithm Capital stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 6 analysts covering Rithm Capital, 83.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 16.67% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) is the #2 top mortgage reit stock out of 39 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 Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) has a Due Diligence Score of 32, which is 2 points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 30.

PMT passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust has seen its stock lose -6.93% over the past year, underperforming other mortgage reit stocks by -12 percentage points.

Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust has an average 1 year price target of $13.33, an upside of 10.28% from Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust's current stock price of $12.09.

Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 66.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) is the #3 top mortgage reit stock out of 39 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 Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: D, Financials: D, and AI: C.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) has a Due Diligence Score of 21, which is -9 points lower than the mortgage reit industry average of 30.

ACRE passed 7 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ares Commercial Real Estate has seen its stock return 47.22% over the past year, overperforming other mortgage reit stocks by 42 percentage points.

Ares Commercial Real Estate has an average 1 year price target of $5.38, an upside of 1.42% from Ares Commercial Real Estate's current stock price of $5.30.

Ares Commercial Real Estate stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Ares Commercial Real Estate, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 25% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 36 mortgage reit stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 mortgage reit stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) has an annual dividend yield of 20.45%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 13.08%. Orchid Island Capital's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eight times in the last 10 years. Orchid Island Capital's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Orchid Island Capital's dividend payout ratio of 116.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Ellington Credit Co (NYSE:EARN) has an annual dividend yield of 20.34%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 13.08%. Ellington Credit Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Ellington Credit Co's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Ellington Credit Co's dividend payout ratio of -564.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Sachem Capital (NYSEMKT:SACH) has an annual dividend yield of 18.87%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 13.08%. Sachem Capital's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% four times in the last 10 years. Sachem Capital's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Sachem Capital's dividend payout ratio of 625% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Mortgage reit stocks were up 2.04% in the last day, and up 3.47% over the last week.

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

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 reit stocks right now are:

Rithm Capital (NYSE:RITM) is the most undervalued mortgage reit stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Rithm Capital has a valuation score of 57, which is 22 points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 35. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Rithm Capital's stock has gained 0.2% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the mortgage reit industry by -5 percentage points.

Armour Residential Reit (NYSE:ARR) is the second most undervalued mortgage reit stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Armour Residential Reit has a valuation score of 29, which is -6 points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 35. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ARR a Valuation Rating of "B".

Armour Residential Reit's stock has gained 23.36% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the mortgage reit industry by 18 percentage points.

Angel Oak Mortgage Reit (NYSE:AOMR) is the third most undervalued mortgage reit stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Angel Oak Mortgage Reit has a valuation score of 29, which is -6 points higher than the mortgage reit industry average of 35. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates AOMR a Valuation Rating of "B".

Angel Oak Mortgage Reit's stock has gained 15.8% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the mortgage reit industry by 11 percentage points.

50% of mortgage reit stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect mortgage reit stocks to rise by 19.82% over the next year.

0% of mortgage reit stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 2.78% of mortgage reit stocks are rated B (Buy), 38.89% are rated C (Hold), 55.56% are rated D (Sell), and 2.78% are rated F (Strong Sell).