Is AGNC Investment the Best Dividend Stock for You?

There's nothing inherently wrong with AGNC Investment (NASDAQ: AGNC), but it isn't a simple company to understand. So if you see the real estate investment trust's (REIT's) huge 14.7% yield and think you've found an ideal passive income stock, step back and take a deep breath. AGNC Investment isn't really for you. Here's why.

Before getting into the details of what AGNC Investment does, it will help to set the stage with a few graphs. Below is a graph showing AGNC Investment's historical dividend yield trends. Notice that the yield has always been quite high. In fact, through most of the mortgage REIT's history it has been above 10%. In other words, it has long shown up on the radar of yield-seeking investors.