Chemed Corporation CHE reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.44, up 20.7% year over year. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.7%.The company’s GAAP EPS was $4.01, highlighting an 18.6% improvement year over year.Revenues in DetailRevenues in the reported quarter improved 2.2% year over year to $527.4 million. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.Segmental Details Chemed operates through two wholly-owned subsidiaries — VITAS (a major provider of end-of-life care) and Roto-Rooter (a leading commercial and residential plumbing plus drain cleaning service provider).In the first quarter, net revenues at VITAS totaled $316 million, down 6.5% year over year. This revenue decline was primarily led by a 7.1% decline in days-of-care, a geographically weighted average Medicare reimbursement rate increase (including the suspension of sequestration on May 1, 2020) of approximately 2.8% and an acuity mix shift that reduced the blended average Medicare rate by approximately 50 basis points (bps).Roto-Rooter reported sales of $212 million in the first quarter, up 18.9% year over year.Total Roto-Rooter branch commercial revenues declined 8.4% on a 5.8% fall in drain cleaning revenues, 5% decline in commercial plumbing, 19.5% decrease in excavation revenues and an 8.8% increase in commercial water restoration revenues.Chemed Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Chemed Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Chemed Corporation QuoteTotal Roto-Rooter branch residential revenues registered growth of 32% on a 29.5% rise in residential drain cleaning revenues, 34.9% improvement in plumbing, 35.8% increase in excavation and 28.7% growth in residential water restoration.Margin in DetailGross profit rose 13.9% year over year to $186.9 million in the first quarter of 2021. Gross margin expanded 363 bps year over year to 35.4%, while the cost of products and services declined 3.2% in the first quarter of 2021.Adjusted operating profit increased 1.9% from the year-ago period to $95.3 million. Adjusted operating margin contracted 5 bps to 18.1% with a 29.8% rise in adjusted operating expenses.Liquidity & Capital StructureChemed exited the first quarter of 2021 with cash and cash equivalents of $210 million, marking an improvement from $162.7 million at the end of the last reported quarter. Similar to fourth-quarter 2020, there was no long-term debt at the end of first-quarter 2021.First-quarter net cash provided by operating activities was $106.7 million compared with $89.3 million a year ago.In the first quarter, Chemed’s management repurchased stocks for $44.8 million. As of Mar 31, 2021, there was approximately $134 million of share repurchase remaining under the existing plan.Guidance 2021Management is likely to provide the updated 2021 earnings guidance in July along with the second-quarter earnings release.Our TakeChemed ended the first quarter of 2021 with better-than-expected earnings and revenues. The figures improved year over year. Solid revenue growth across Roto-Rooter is encouraging, given the challenging business environment. Expansion of gross margins buoys optimism. Chemed exited the first quarter of 2021 will no long-term debt, which is again a positive.On the flip side, a decline in VITAS revenues during the reported quarter was discouraging. Rising operating expenses and contraction of operating margin are concerns. Reimbursement hampering top-line growth, business seasonality and a tough competitive landscape are other headwinds.Zacks Rank & Key PicksCurrently, Chemed carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space include Semler Scientific Inc. SMLR, Owens & Minor, Inc. OMI and DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. XRAY, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Semler is expected to release results on May 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter 2021 adjusted EPS is currently pegged at 48 cents. The consensus mark for first-quarter revenues stands at $11.9 million.Owens & Minor and is scheduled to release results on May 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its first-quarter 2021 adjusted EPS is currently pegged at 97 cents. The consensus estimate for first-quarter revenues stands at $2.29 billion.DENTSPLY SIRONA is slated to release results on May 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2021 adjusted EPS is currently pegged at 55 cents. The consensus estimate for revenues stands at $929.3 million.Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY): Free Stock Analysis Report Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI): Free Stock Analysis Report Chemed Corporation (CHE): Free Stock Analysis Report Semler Scientific Inc. (SMLR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research