AGNC Investment Corp reports Q3 losses amid rising interest rates

AGNC Investment Corp reported a difficult third quarter, characterized by a negative 12.7% economic return and a decline in tangible net book value per share from $8.58 to $7.13. The mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) faced significant pressure from surging interest rates and increased volatility in fixed-income markets, particularly during late September. These conditions impacted Agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which were the worst-performing sector in the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index during the period.

Despite these challenges, the company’s net spread and dollar roll income remained relatively stable at $0.37 per share, compared to $0.40 in the previous quarter. The monthly dividend was maintained at $0.12 per share.

AGNC also capitalized on its inclusion in the S&P MidCap 400 to raise approximately $992 million in equity capital through its ATM program, issuing nearly 98 million new shares at a premium to book value. However, the company's leverage ratio increased to 7.9x, exceeding its target range of 7.0x to 7.5%.